-- 3/8 WWE Raw Reax

Paul Lucas of Tallassee, Ala. (8.0): Best Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho. Worst Match: Sheamus vs. Evan Bourne. If there is one word that summarizes this week's Raw, it is: focus. WWE has been on a roll since the WrestleMania build began and I find myself really enjoying Raw again after a stagnant period in 2009 where I could rarely make myself stay up to watch the often recycled main events. While much of the WrestleMania hype has been heavy on talking and lacking in wrestling, this show redressed the balance. Yes, none of the three main events had a clean finish, but that's acceptable given the time of the year and the furthering of the various programs - Batista cost Cena his match, Jericho chickened out of his match with Michaels only to be jumped by Edge, and the Legacy/Sheamus attacks at the conclusion of Triple H-Orton were necessary to put heat on the up-and-comers. I commend both Triple H and Orton for being willing to take a step away from the limelight this year. ... The contract signing with Bret Hart and Vince McMahon was predictable, but that doesn't mean it wasn't the right thing to do. Unfortunately, however, I think WWE overdid the "Bret gets beat up, then gets invited back" scenario in the lead up to this week's plot twist and that's why the moment didn't get the heat it deserved. I'll still be thrilled to see The Hitman back in the pink and black at Mania. It was reassuring to see them finally set up a program for the divas at the PPV, although I'd much rather see a one-on-one match for the Women's or Divas titles than yet another tag match. Finally, Mr. Austin, how good it was to see you back. Feel free to call in any time because it's always good to see an old friend who actually knows when to say goodbye. Speaking of which, over on TNA, I flicked between the channels on occasions when Raw went to commercial. I caught a Beer Money promo, a few moments of an awful women's match that involved Daffney attempting to hit Angelina Love with a hammer, and Abyss, a character that just looks so cheesy in 2010, putting Ric Flair, who just looks so old in 2010, through a cardboard ramp. It feels like they just throw as much at the wall as possible and hope that something sticks, but again, less is more, and when every other segment involves blood or chairs or foreign objects it all loses its impact, no pun intended. Unfortunately, I am less interested in TNA with every week that passes.

John of Cocoa Beach, Fla., writer (9.0): Best Match: Michaels vs. Jericho. Worst Match: Maryse vs. Kelly Kelly. As we come to the end of the road for WrestleMania, we saw good wrestling action to whet our appetite for Mania. A couple of the run-ins made sense, including Batista playing mind-games with John Cena to cost him the match against Big Show and Edge crashing the Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho match to give Jericho payback for Smackdown. The Divas match run-in with the Smackdown Divas made little sense, but it's my guess we will have a six-divas tag match. Personally, it was great to see Stone Cold Steve Austin again, and I noticed how much trimmer he looked. Just the right amount of Austin with no Stunners and no beer baths to overshadow the end of the show. Instead, he played pretty much the guest host who had to lay the law down when necessary to Jericho and Vince at the contract signing. Sheamus's clarification of why he wanted to wrestle Triple H was done well, and I'm afraid his squashing of Evan Bourne is going to lead to some ridiculous storyline injury to Evan to get the Money in the Bank match back down to eight guys. I didn't see much of the Triple H vs. Randy Orton match. I switched for a few minutes to WCW Saturday Night, I mean TNA Impact, to see Uncle Eric get his head shaved by the former Mankind. Booking-wise, the end result of Raw that the "accident" was a set-up between Bret Hart and John Cena to put one over on Vince was done well and it was logical way to explain away the "leg injury." My only fear is that next week's Raw may be a trap show. It was nice to see that Stu Hart and Gorgeous George will be inducted in the Hall of Fame. Let's hope WWE is really inducting the real Gorgeous George, the legendary star from the '50s, the precursor to all the heels that have come after the late legend, and NOT the blonde that was with Randy Savage!

-- 3/8 TNA Impact Reax

Louis of Charlotte, N.C. (3.0): Best Match: Hardy vs. Styles. Worst Match: The Nasty Boys match. I thought this was a bad show. The opening segment with Hulk Hogan and co. walking out together prompted a question - Why were these guys grouped together? I didn't like that at all. In the ring, it was a good opening segment for TNA with Hardy, A.J., and Flair. Not great, but good. The promo at the beginning was great, but I wasn't to pleased with how heavy-handed they were with A.J. in the promo because I believe A.J. sucks on the mic. I was also disappointed with the amount of time Jeff Hardy had on the mic, which wasn't much. After that, who the ----wants to see a Nasty Boys match on Mondays? No one. WCW fans are not coming back. Give it up, TNA. They probably lost a good chunk of viewers with this crappy match. Then, they finally had a potentially good match with Ken Anderson & Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle & Pope. This match would have been better if this group had had some mic time before the match instead of the Nastys match we got instead. How does this group of guys not get any mic time? Then, RVD and Hardy were shown on TV for 30 seconds with Hogan. No mic time for either of these guys in the office. What are they, just props? Later on, TNA had a five-minute match with Hall and Nash, which was almost as bad as the Nastys match. The Beer Money promo afterward was good and I'm glad they're heels now, but I didn't care for Shannon Moore's promo. I enjoyed the X Division segment and brawl in the next-to-last segment. I was entertained by this, but that's nothing new. The X Division usually delivers. After that, it was great seeing Hardy in the ring and I enjoyed the match, but TNA is going have to do better than this if they want to survive on Mondays. They need to stop being lazy.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on these shows for a "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 Raw and Impact, click here.

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWE PPV REAX #1: "I wanted the biggest event of the summer to end with an exclamation point; it ended with a semicolon and a question"

WWE PPV REAX #1: Battleground finish generates mixed reactions...

WWE PPV REAX #2: In-Person Battleground Report on overall show, reactions, more