-- WWE Raw Reax 1/2

Joey B. in N.J.: Thumbs up. Oh, Jericho, I knew something was fishy when you came out doing the whitebread babyface bit. The self-indulgent "cheer whore" routine is clearly a precursor to an angle or new persona... Punk and Ziggler are having consistently fantastic matches. Ziggler, with some improvement on mic time, can be this generation's Curt Hennig... Cena's "You bought a ticket and I support your right to cheer or boo, etc." speech is becoming channel-switchingly repetitive. Rhodes-Bryan was good, and comparing Gail Kim's match on Impact with Mickie James to this week's Divas match showed that she made the right decision... Great to see the new crop of guys getting most of the time on the show now.

Matt of Westbrook, Maine (6.5): Not an overall great show, but it had its moments considering it was a promo-heavy Raw. The Punk vs. Ziggler match was good for being a mid-card match, which isn't a bad thing. These two can make any match special and just because the WWE title match wasn't the true "main event" doesn't take away from the title or their feud... Cody vs. Bryan was so-so. I thought this could have been a lot better considering these two are great wrestlers... Cena and Kane. I'm starting to enjoy this feud. Kane should have been doing this stuff two weeks ago, as it takes away from his masked character when he talks for too long. I also like Kane's new move of covering his opponent's face/mandible claw/suffocating. Finally, Y2J. I knew it would be him and I like that he didn't say much. It leaves his "new character" many options. Sometimes saying less is more and this was the case here.

Frank in Anaheim, Calif.: I thought Jericho's return was pure amazing. He played the crowd and fooled them. A classic heel turn. And, Cena's feud with Kane is going pretty well figuring that kidnapping Zack Ryder would definitely get under Cena's skin. It was well-played.

Conor Leaden of Dublin, Ireland (6.5): Best: Jericho Return. Worst: Cena-Kane interaction. Overall, I thought there was more to like than dislike on this Raw. Obviously, the big news item is Jericho's return and it was epic. Jericho is so far ahead of everyone else in the business, creatively, it's frightening. I couldn't believe how he conned me and, by the looks of it, most of the audience. Halfway through the segment, I was thinking "This is awful, what is Jericho doing?" But, then, that rye smile just before he went back through the curtain told me that I was feeling exactly how Jericho intended me to feel. It was going to be nearly impossible for Jericho to get heat upon his triumphant return but with saying a word he managed to turn an entire crowd of loving fans against him. The man is a genius. You can say what you like about Punk, Orton, Cena, or anyone else, but Jericho is just on another level with his ability to control and manipulate the crowd's emotions... Regarding the Cena-Kane feud, I felt WWE took one step back this week after taking two steps forward in Chicago. Last week had the powerfully image of Cena contemplating if his beliefs are correct while being pelted with "Cena sucks" chants. This week? Same old Cena proclaiming how much he loves his fans and how strong his values are. WWE went from the intriguing storyline of Cena finally beginning to have some sort of inner-conflict to the cartoon-like image of Kane trying to drag Zack Ryder to "hell."

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 or email us at pwtorch@gmail.com.

[Torch photo (c) PWTorch.com]

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