-- 1/11 WWE Raw Reax

Patrick Michael of Rochester, N.Y. (5.0): Best: John Cena vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton. Worst: Katie Lea Burchill vs. Eve Torres. The show had two highlights this week. (1) A strong three-way match for the number one contender to set up a Sheamus vs. Randy Orton match at Royal Rumble. (2) Most important was a strong money promo from MVP. MVP really stepped it up and gave the best promo I have seen him give in any company. The back and forth between The Miz and MVP really made him the sympathetic babyface that fans can get behind, which WWE is lacking right now. The Miz came across as the hated heel that fans want to pay to get beat. The ultra-strong heel character like Orton or Triple H has gone on so long that it's refreshing to see the chickens--- heel back with The Miz. Other than that, the show was another average Raw that was used to start elevating some of the mid-card guys for the Royal Rumble PPV.

Sarah Knight of Michigan (8.0): Best Match: Orton-Kofi-Cena. Worst: Hornswoggle main event run-in. You know, it's funny, because I actually enjoyed this show. Yes, Mike Tyson was awkward at times; but that was to be expected. He's a (retired?) boxer. He spent years in the ring getting punched in the head. I don't expect him to be ultra cogent. I liked the opening segment. I actually laughed at Cena's "Mike Tyson Punch Out" joke, and believe me, I'm not a Cena fan. I think that everyone who participated in the segment played it very well from promos to facial expressions. The women's matches? Eh. WWE has conditioned viewers to realize that these three-minute matches are fairly meaningless. Although it did kind of feel like someone was reading my Raw thread comments on the forums with it being brought up the Michael Cole cannot seem to be bothered to correctly pronounce Maryse's name. The tag match with Legacy vs. Evan Bourne and random partner Mark Henry was good for what it was. I liked the pre-match promo from Legacy, although the crowd seemed more interested in entertaining themselves. I liked the Miz's segment. It was awkward in a genuine way (seriously, Miz, lower the mic unless you're going to lick it - lemme see some chin). There was a point during the promo where it seemed like MVP forgot his lines, but both men's performances looked genuine enough for that not to be a major distraction. I liked the Mike Tyson vignette with Hornswoggle. Tyson's "scary heel" delivery was spot on. Well executed. I liked the Swagger-Santino segment. It's also been the first time in a long time that I've actually been entertained by a segment involving Santino. The premise of an all-Italian Italian challenge was comedy gold. Well done. I'm not a DX fan, but I actually liked the main event. I liked how DX in the ring vs. Tyson had that weirdly real feel to it where it wasn't just guys doing moves; it was wrestlers selling for moves and the character of their opponent. While I'm not all for Hornswoggle, I did like the way the show went off the air with DX, Tyson, and his kid. It seemed to have a genuine energy behind it.

Alex Roberts of the U.K. (2.5): Best: Miz-MVP Segment. Worst: Main Event. An incredibly dull edition of Raw this week which really only had one highlight, The Miz and MVP. Last week, I was interested in whether or not WWE would pull the trigger on a full-blown Miz-MVP feud and this week they did with spectacular results. The Miz cut his best promo to date (and he's set that bar relatively high), and, after a rough start, MVP finally managed to regain some of his lost momentum. If WWE can keep this ball rolling, they potentially have something very special on their hands with these two. Elsewhere, there was little on this show that was truly bad, but by the same token none of it was particularly exciting or compelling. The opening segment was necessary, but dull. Following up a video of the Austin-Tyson face-off with that Sheamus-Tyson face-off was a giant mistake. A bigger mistake still was giving Randy Orton a title shot at The Rumble and not because its heel vs. heel (although that's bad) and not because it's another Orton main event, but because they've just booked their new heel champion (who's struggling to establish himself and draw heat) against the one man he's never going to be able to draw heat against. Who in their right minds thinks the way to get a heel over is to feud them with Orton? That didn't even work when Orton was a face. The McMahon segment was again necessary but dull. Here's hoping WWE actually has something planned with this Hart angle and isn't booking as they go. Aside from that, what else happened on this edition of Raw? It took WWE just a week to ignore the big "Jericho leaves Raw" angle from last week and they didn't even ignore it for a rewarding angle. There were further teases of a Legacy split, but these teases don't work without Orton. And Jack Swagger has apparently annoyed someone backstage. That's the only explanation I have for his booking this week. The major issue with Raw right now though is the lack of storyline content, outside of the U.S. Title angle. WWE is just in a holding pattern until they're ready to start overt build toward WrestleMania. The problem is that it gives me very little reason to keep watching every week.

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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