5/11 WWE Raw Reax

Eric Gall of Bridgeport, Conn. (5.0): High Point: Chavo's manipulation; Quizno commercials. Low Point: The Randy & Dave Show. In a lot of ways, I thought I was watching a repeat of last week's Raw. It's evident that everyone and everything other than the Orton-Batista storyline is playing second-fiddle. WWE loves milking angles and storylines until they're bone dry and screaming for a change, and this show was no different. Starting the show, ending the show, cute little Batista-stalks-Priceless, and having another stipulation-for-the-main-event match with Batista and the Legacy early on is really pushing it. John Cena painted himself as the guy who never quits and finds a way to win. Cena, however, doesn't have the Everyman quality that Steve Austin had, and his star won't reach past the little kids and soccer moms who already wear his t-shirts. Cena has been portrayed as too strong and too invulnerable to really be seen as ever being in jeopardy in any match or angle. Thus, his popularity to the male demographic, who've seen a lot of wrestling, is not going to be increased. Kofi seemed to show some heelish tendencies tonight, first with his blindside attack on Matt Hardy, and then later in the match by kicking Hardy's broken hand. I wonder if I'm reading too much into that. Maryse and Mickie should be a fine match at the PPV if they give it enough time, but like everything else on Raw, if it's not the main event program, it's treated as another plug-in segment until Orton gets to talk some more. Chris Jericho and C.M. Punk must be thinking to themselves, "Thank God I was moved to Smackdown" because now they can get a little bit of the spotlight that only Triple H, Orton, Cena, and Batista hold on Raw.

I'm not a fan of the Miz, but the guy knows how to heel. He's been cutting some great promos for the past few weeks, and really has the knack for getting people to want to see him get torn up. Probably the most subtle and intelligent booking that's been on Raw lately has been Chavo's insinuating suggestions to Vickie in terms of booking suggestions and making them seem to be Vickie's ideas all along. Hopefully this leads to something down the road, but it's a fresh change of pace that a slow burn is being placed into secondary characters on the show. I don't know why the Santina angle is what's being used to turn Santino face, but they really should get this whole thing over with. I don't think it's funny, and there's so many better things they can be doing with him. The most blatant moment of forced laughter came tonight when Cole and Lawler overdid it, trying to tell the viewers at home that Santina is supposed to be the babyface in his skit. If WWE wants to know how to write edgy, uncomfortable comedy, they should watch the Quizno's "Torpedo" commercials with "Scott" and the HAL-like oven; those commercials have become the few moments I look forward to on Monday nights. The very next scene was just as bad, showing Cody Rhodes hiding somewhere backstage, pipe in hand, looking for Batista. This was just ridiculous; he's trying to hide, but the cameraman just happens to be exactly where he is! Raw remains a show that is multi-task worthy, but certainly not something to devote your whole attention to.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE Raw Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Raw, click here.

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