-- 5/3 WWE Raw Reax

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (9.0): Best: Morrison vs. DiBiase; Cutting Edge. Worst: Maryse vs. Nikki. So, TNA decided that another Monday Night Wars won't play out. Could a night like Monday night be why TNA surrendered? Even the weakest stuff on Raw (Maryse vs. Nikki) had some logic and sense. ... Batista got the crowd going with his show-opening promo and Michael Cole seemed almost convincing that maybe he warmed up a bit to Daniel Bryan. ... Welcome to the mid-card, John Morrison. I was afraid this was going to happen. I'm hoping this is only temporary, just like the Michaels-JBL "Virgil wannabe" storyline a few years ago. ... Barrett and Bryan got big-time exposure on the show and their Pros, Chris Jericho and The Miz, were amusing as they traded notes on how they "carried" Big Show. I like the idea of a Miz-Jericho pairing, but something really needs to be done with the U.S. Title first. It may have been defended on the road, but on TV, the 30-day requirement is well past expiration. ... Kozlov and Regal back on the same team was too easy, and Regal was the wrong one to do the job against the Hart Dynasty. ... I was willing to give Edge's face run a chance, but WWE just didn't know how to make it work in the PG environment. But, all of the issues surrounding the face turn and subsequent heel turn were addressed. I just happened to watch the Edge DVD the other day, and my, the irony of six years ago. It was Edge vs. Randy for the IC Title and the crowd was supposed to be backing Randy then. The crowd wasn't ready for the Randy Orton face run then, but they sure are now. Now, whatever cues the crowd is feeding on to buy into Randy Orton as a face weren't there for Edge.

John of Cocoa Beach, Fla. (6.0): Best Match: Morrison vs. DiBiase. Worst: Ryder vs. Henry. The show started with a good opening segment with Batista making a valid point on being duct-taped at Extreme Rules. He was healthy enough to be able to stand up and continue to fight Cena; that was his point. Overall, Raw felt like opening day for Major League Baseball with the new additions via the Draft. John Morrison made a great first and second impression against Ted DiBiase. My question: Why does Ted Junior want another "Virgil" since he repeatedly states he's not like his father? It looks like we have gone from Jeri-show to Sho-Miz and now to... Jeri-Miz? ... As much as I like Eve Torres, Maryse simply is the complete Diva. ... I don't know how legit the NXT voting is, but it says something when Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett are on Raw. ... Edge gave the perfect wrestling 101 promo on how a face who turns heel explains why, and gave his side of the story with the typical justification that the fans didn't accept him. ... Somewhere, Barry Williams, a/k/a Greg Brady, must be asking if he's owed a royalty check. It was kind of cute to see a momentary flashback to Sexual Chocolate when Mark Henry escorted away Gail Kim and Alicia Fox. Funny, I didn't know Alicia was still on the roster. ... Overall, not a bad show. I like Sheamus being inserted into the Cena-Batista storyline, the potential major feud between Randy Orton and Edge, and the awesome debut of John Morrison. Hopefully Larry King didn't hear Jerry Lawler's line when Zack Ryder explained that he's "single and ready to mingle." It was odd that Wayne Brady was a non-factor until the main event. I wanted to see a little more "Let's Make a Deal" during the show, but maybe it was a good thing. Brady might not be around today if Batista got Zonked.

-- 5/3 TNA Impact Reax

Jarel Barnes of Hampton Roads, Va., student (4.0): Best: RVD vs. Wolfe. Worst: Orlando Jordan not future endeavored. This week's Impact had its ups and downs. It started off different and strong with Jay Lethal hilariously mimicking Ric Flair, which leads me to think the idiocy of TNA's writing team over the years for not taking advantage of his mic skills before now. Ric Flair was himself, which was fine, but the brawl was a bit overdone. Too many people were in the ring and it would have confusing to anyone checking out Impact for the first time. Having Team 3D interjected into the Beer Money-Machine Guns match wasn't a bad idea, however, I believe the young teams should be the focal point of the tag division. Ink, Inc. is a decent concept and it makes sense to put Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore together. I think Moore is overly criticized by people and I believe he's a really interesting character and wrestler. The Anderson and Pope interaction was a bit much, but the interaction with Jeff Hardy and Anderson was gold. I thought Jeff Hardy cut the best promo of his career. Nothing about the other matches really stood out because they were too short. I will say that Doug Williams has become interesting by the minute and I hope Samoa Joe beefs with him for the X Title. Also, Matt Morgan was solid again. On the Knockouts side, The Beautiful People are just awful since the breakup of Angelina Love and Velvet Sky. Lacey Von Erich is like a female Ultimate Warrior without charisma.

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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