-- 2/22 WWE Raw Reax

Joe Ward of Raleigh N.C. (8.0): Best: tie between Jericho-Edge and Orton-Legacy developments. WWE may ignore a head-to-head battle with TNA, but if last night is an indication, they aren't interested in giving TNA a foothold. What a loaded show. The brand extension is on its deathbed. From Smackdown, we had Edge, Jericho, Undertaker, and Batista. ECW gave us Christian - which I'm all for - and Yoshi added to the mix to create some excitement. I'm very interested to see how the "Michaels Career vs. Undertaker Streak" storyline will resolve. It would be a shame for either to lose. Orton is brilliant. I just hope they keep him "tweener" and don't try to make him a face. He is one of those rare talents who has the ability to get face pops when he's a heel like Austin and Flair could. The Batista-Cena interaction was much better than I expected. The only thing I didn't care for was no Sheamus. They way they have played his character, he should have been waiting on the ramp with a chair to knock out Batista after Batista obliterated Cena. I deducted points because I agree with the earlier feedback that McMahon and Cena's interaction is making McMahon-Hart irrelevant. That said, Cena's interaction with McMahon and interrupting Vinnie Mac was awesome. Finally, I'm glad they ended the Divas tournament and Maryse may make that title relevant.

John of Cocoa Beach, Fla., Writer (8.5): Best Match: Six-man tag. Worst Match: Big Show vs. Big Bull. Pardon the pun, but a gem of a Raw last night with Jewel and her cowboy/husband/ sidekick. After that slap on Jillian, sign Jewel up for NXT. The first Raw to start the countdown to WrestleMania hit a high note on many levels. First, we got resolution Edge facing Chris Jericho at WrestleMania, no surprise. Second, we got some explanation on why Batista turned heel in the first place. Third, we are hopefully over with the 29th Degeneration X reunion tour as Shawn Michaels is already making his summer vacation plans putting up his career against Undertaker's WrestleMania undefeated streak. Also, sadly, Gail Kim must learn, if you were ever a TNA Knockout, you will never wear a title in WWE. Give Maryse credit working herself from someone who just did cameo vignettes on Smackdown to being a hot Diva who can also wrestle. Let's hope she never needs neck surgery always flipping her hair up. You knew with Raw in Indianapolis, there had to be a Colts losing reference somewhere, and the Miz pulled it off perfectly. All that was missing from Chris Jericho's mock Disney World celebration in the ring was a little baby. Where was Hornswoggle? How ironic is it that a year ago on Raw, Batista was loved, and Randy Orton was reviled for assaulting the McMahon family and injuring the Animal. Now, the roles are seemingly reversed with Orton's apparent face turn on Legacy. With all the talent available and only so many spots on a WrestleMania card, WWE really had no choice but to add Money in the Bank again. Christian gets the first spot. On Raw, others available include Evan Bourne, Chavo Guerrero, and MVP. Smackdown has John Morrison, C.M. Punk, Rey Mysterio, and Shelton Benjamin. ... Wendi Richter was a surprising choice for the Hall of Fame. Perhaps it was done to honor Captain Lou Albano, who died recently. Today's fans may not remember Richter, but she was a valuable and much-under-appreciated talent who helped jumpstart WWF's national expansion.

MS of Los Angeles, Calif. (8.5): Best: HBK-Taker video. Worst: Bullriding. Raw was pretty good this week. The opening was nice and nobody can deny the fact that Chris Jericho's promos are fantastic. The matches were nice too. I don't want to see another Mark Henry & MVP vs. Show & Miz match next week, though. Legacy's break up might finally happen next week and seeing Randy Orton destroy Rhodes and DiBiase (who got up way too quick to sell a RKO on the floor) got me hungry for more. The video package of Shawn Michaels's hunt for a re-match was by far the best thing this week and I'm extremely satisfied with the way their match has been built. If I were Vince McMahon, I'd release the Bellas and Kelly Kelly. There's no point paying someone to sit around and say three lines once a week. There are other useless Divas as well. I think only Beth, Mickie, Maryse, Michelle, and Gail deserve to be on TV. The bullriding segment was ridiculous and all I can say is congratulations for making the Big Show embarrass himself and making the tag champions look weak.

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.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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