-- 4/5 WWE Raw Reax

Henry Jenkins of Seattle, Wash. (7.5): Best: The overall focus on new stars. Worst: Both tag matches. This week's Raw felt clumsy focusing on the young stars, but at least that's the right direction to be going in. I'll be very patient. Jack Swagger showed that he can go more than three minutes in the ring. He also looks like he's trying to be Chris Jericho. The pinstriped black suit, the slow, serious walk, the pompous expression - to me, it showed a lack of confidence to be copying someone else. David Otunga has a great look and gimmick, but he's not conveying enough conviction in his voice to sound like a heavyweight, which is a problem because he's playing a cocky heel. ... I'm not sure Ted DiBiase shouldn't steal his dad's entire gimmick. He still looks introverted out there and a big character might help him bust out of his shell. The Divas battle royal may not have been anything great, but I enjoyed Maryse's commentary. She's vicious! ... The Hart and Soul DVD ad was interesting. I had no idea that Owen Hart has such a unique and appropriate tombstone. I may have to buy the DVD. Lastly, somehow the bookers took five compelling stars and had them put on two painfully boring tag matches. I'm fine with the Last Man Standing re-match between Cena and Batista, but could I have back the 30 minutes they took to get to the point?

-- 4/5 Raw & Impact Reax

DHL of Philadelphia, Pa. This has got to be a joke. I think that TNA and WWE are playing a cruel joke on the wrestling public because after watching Raw and TNA, it looks like Vince is paying them to look stupid. TNA can't possibly think that they're going to beat WWE with this product. I liked Raw; it was solid. For the first time in like ten years, WWE is focusing on the future rather than family members, snitches, and butt-kissers. On the other show, what a waste of talent. TNA is falling apart at the seams. They look like they are desperate. Dudley Boys, MCMG, RVD, Jeff Hardy, and notable others were made to look horrible. Orlando Jordan's "groundbreaking storyline" is getting reduced to plain silliness, James Storm looked like a fat slob, the Wolfpack has a new mark member, and the matches were devoid of meaning. The opening segment was just ridiculous. What kind of company is Dixie Carter running here? By the way, Abyss, say it, don't spray and kill it! They have so much talent - some of their talent is better than WWE's wrestlers - but after watching this show, I feel that TNA is dying a slow death.

Richard H. of Wilmington, Ohio: (5.0 Impact & 7.5 Raw): Best Match: Swagger vs. Orton. Worst: Orlando Jordan freak show. The only reason to tune in to Impact was because it was starting early and then they tried everything to drive people away. Rob Terry as the next Ultimate Warrior is wasting my time. As for the tag title picture, well, Bischoff's well-documented snobbery about tag teams is showing itself. The Band (an old, physical cripple, a washed-up, emotional cripple, and a hyper-active primate) was scripted to jump the mentor team that has at least attempted to help some of the up-and-comers and arguably one of the most exciting tag teams to do what, exactly? Put themselves over? Grab a spotlight from the Guns? Raw meanwhile looked like Emmy-caliber writing in comparison to TNA. Swagger came across great, Cena was entertaining as always, Otunga proved to be an effective heel, and the Divas didn't totally suck. Using wrestling talent as the guest host is the only way to keep the guest host angle fresh.

-- 4/5 TNA Impact Reax

Stu L of Saint John, NB, Canada (1.5): Best Match: Angle-Anderson. Worst Match: Everything else. This show has really gone from just plain bad to plain unwatchable. The entire episode just reeked of desperation. They really need to just get rid of the booking team, and start from scratch. It really makes me wonder if Vince Russo is actually working for Vince McMahon, and is trying to deliberately sabotage the show. The Rob Terry push is foolish, especially with a wrestler who so blatantly and obviously lacks any talent and charisma. And the unprotected chair shot he took did not make him look tough; it made the whole product look backdated by ten years. When you have to resort to this type of crap to pop a rating, there's something wrong. And the whole Knockouts thing was flawed from the onstart. These girls were drawing TNA's biggest rating a few months ago because they had the only interesting storylines and continuity week after week, and were exciting to watch. But Russo has even managed to screw that up in favor of T&A Jerry Springer style.

David of Richmond, Va. (0.6): Best Match: None. Worst: Rob Terry. You know a wrestling show is in trouble when the World champion shows up near the end of the show and the announcer says, "That's the World champion, A.J. Styles," because they are aware that viewers might not recognize the man who should be at the forefront of the program. Orlando Jordan is a problem. While I am fine with a wrestler who has an alternative lifestyle, wrestling is built on giving heels a personality that fans can boo. As a heel with no other personality traits, fans will boo his sexuality. They will chant offensive things at him during promos. They will cheer when the good guy beats up the bisexual man. This is all being promoted and encouraged by the storyline and it's disgusting. ... Kurt Angle may be one of the greatest wrestlers alive, but he should not be put in matches where his neck is being smacked against ladders repeatedly for a key that he doesn't even want. I could not enjoy the match because I was worried about Angle's health. TNA is not hindered by things such as concern for the health of their wrestlers. If one "key match" wasn't enough, they had Tara lose the Knockouts Title after winning her match, all because she picked the wrong lockbox afterward. Let's examine this a bit. There were three things you could win, and one possible punishment. The tarantula already belongs to Tara, and Tara is already the Knockouts champion. Tara, as champion, has no need to win a contract to get a title shot. Why exactly would she agree to a match where she was guaranteed to lose something that belonged to her? She gained nothing by taking part in this, but TNA wanted the match, so common sense went out the window. ... The Motor City Machineguns won the number one contendership match at the PPV, and are now trying to become number one contenders? TNA has completely forgotten the results of their most recent PPV! This absurd segment smacked their paying viewers right in the face. ... Beer Money is on Team Flair! That would normally be impressive, except that the two of them lost against a solo Jay Lethal last week. Lethal is not even a part of this storyline, so that match has now been forgotten. Why is Sting bad again? He hates Ric Flair. Sting's last match before disappearing was a loss to A.J. Styles, right? So why is he siding with them over friends and strangers? TNA doesn't have an answer, so they'll distract you with nonsense. TNA mid-carders (and former WWE main-eventers) Jeff Hardy and RVD were pretty much an afterthought. It doesn't matter how much money they can draw, they are second to Hogan's plans. You have these two on a team and neither is the leader? Abyss is one of the least valuable, most damaged characters in the entire wrestling industry. Eric Young was given the main event victory last week and did not even appear on this week's show. The British Invasion guys are getting monster pushes, while more deserving talent like Christopher Daniels is cut loose. I am sure that TNA believes that they are doing everything right, and fans like myself are useless idiots for actually expecting storylines and characters that make sense. Dixie Carter has proven on air that she believes that everyone should follow her vision or leave. I would leave, but witnessing the self-destruction of a company run by amateurs is fun in a sadistic sort of way.

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.

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