-- 1/4 WWE Raw and TNA Impact Reax

Matthew Robins of Chicago, Ill. (5.0 Raw is Warzone): Best: The King getting his. Worst: Ruining Bret's theme music. Well, The Hitman returned. It was just all right, gulp. I know he is the best wrestler of the past 20 years, but when you are gone that long, and have a joke of a run in WCW, you just lose so much luster. Heel one week, face the next. Heel in the U.S., face in Canada. I love him now, but hated him as a youngster. I think as much as PWTorch readers have kept the memories he has given us alive, the rest of the audience gets as excited for when Trish Stratus returned. If you take away the opening and closing segments, this was like every other Raw for the past six months. Maybe a little better without John Cena, maybe a little worse with MVP having trouble performing his own pathetic finisher. Will it matter in the ratings? Of course not. I'll admit, my expectations were much higher for Impact because I knew there was no perfect way that Bret could be handled. He seemed genuine on the mic and his customized leather jackets are always a treat. It was weird seeing him with HBK and weird with Vince, but ultimately not as weird as seeing Jeff Hardy on the top of the Steel Asylum or Ric Flair getting out of that limo. It just did not do it for me as much as I thought it would. No Hart Dynasty? The handshake with Shawn, the kick in the groin from Vince - it was not that shocking and did not make me eager to tune in next week. Shawn keeps teasing an Undertaker feud, but he's too busy with the Unified Belts, Hornswoggle, and making it look like he has a full head of hair. Bret has said time and time again that he is retired from in-ring action. Three-plus months of him on the microphone with smirks on his face may get, dare I say, a little old. I am sure, though, with Stu Hart getting inducted, we will see him in the ring at WrestleMania. By then, will the fans be tired or bored? As for Raw, I will watch next week, like always, but it has to be seen if Mike Tyson says "Cold Stone" or if they decide to broadcast from a smaller arena.

Frank Faries of St. Louis, Mo, account manager (8.0 Raw & 2.0 Impact): I'll be honest, Bret Hart was the sole source of my excitement for Monday night. Hogan on Impact was little more than a novelty to me. Like any other casual viewer who happened to flip to Spike because of the big-name attraction, TNA had the first hour of their show to impress me. They didn't. Not only did they not impress, they failed so spectacularly that I couldn't bear to watch any more. The Steel Asylum match was ridiculous to watch due to the thick red bars of the cage, and the frenetically-paced action (that could not be seen due to the aforementioned bars of the cage). The finish was aptly named by the audience, and then I'm not sure what Homicide was trying to do, but he sure wasn't getting out of that cage very easily. Then, TNA paraded various ghosts of 1995 and spit a little too much insider info to appeal to a wider audience. Raw was guilty of being trapped in the past as well, but it was a past worth revisiting. There was genuine emotion in Hart's interactions with HBK and McMahon, and the segments were absolutely gripping. The rest of the show was...meh...but Hart was the focus anyway. And when referencing an "insider" event (Montreal) that new or casual fans may not be overly familiar with, they at least ran a video package to bring everyone up to speed.

David Bryant of Asheboro/Greensboro, N.C., Entertainer/Producer (9.5 Impact): Best Segment: Angle vs. Styles in a 20-plus minute classic. Worst Segment: The Steel Asylum match ending in a No-Contest. I took off one-half point for the abysmal "'no-contest" finish to the Steel Asylum match, but other than that, the show was solid. I almost feel as though they started with the crappy no-contest finish to show us exactly what Hogan planned to fix later in the show once he tore up the booking sheets. Notice how the original line-up featured Full Metal matches and Barbwire matches and then Bischoff/Hogan destroyed the original line-up to give us outstanding straight wrestling matches like Angle vs. Styles and Abyss vs. Samoa Joe. I almost felt as though Impact's first hour was to show a contrast of the change to be expected. I planned to flip over to check out Raw at the 9:00 p.m. mark, but I was so captivated by TNA's programming, that I forgot Monday Night Raw was on. I didn't remember I was going to flip the channel until around 9:15 p.m. By that point I figured, "What the hell - they have my interest, why not give them a chance to keep it." I liked that the NWO, The Nasty Boys, and even Jeff Jarrett were not made to look like the second coming of anything. They were made to look like people, and while we all know they are people who have done great things, I felt as though Hogan respected the likes of A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, Abyss, Matt Morgan, and ODB just as much as he did the likes of X-Pac or Val Venis. Hogan's line of "It's time to grow up" aimed at Scott Hall was classic. ... I actually got chills listening to the crowd chant "THIS IS WRESTLING! THIS IS WRESTLING!" because, yes, that was wrestling when Angle vs. Styles was the kind of main event wrestling shows should be building to. While it is possible to screw up anything, and I have seen many opportunities flushed down many toilets during my time as a wrestling fan, I hope TNA does not screw up this opportunity; tonight they have managed to leave with their heads held high. Please TNA, I implore you, please continue this trend and don't drop this ball. Before Impact aired, I told a friend of mine "TNA is not ready. They are simply not ready to go head to head with Vince McMahon." After seeing what TNA offered, though, Vince McMahon is the one who is not ready.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "TNA TV 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 Impact, click here.

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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