-- WWE Raw Reax 4/16

Richard H. of Wilmington, Ohio (7.0): So, a taped episode of Raw felt more coherent than a live episode. No surprise there. I felt this week's episode was above-average with more emphasis on wrestling (that is what WWE needs to "legitimize" their product) and less on inanities and promos. Best of night for me was a promo, as Brock Lesnar came off as a ginormous, self-centered prick. Which, given his history, is probably close to the truth. There was no real worst - okay, the whole Sherlock Truth thing sucked, otherwise it was fine. No Divas match? No worst match. Coincidence? You decide. Additionally, they are finally letting John Cena show more vulnerability as the squawk-boxes beat us over the head with repeated references to Cena losing a must-win match, showing fear, and even losing to Lord Albert. By the way, I refuse to take the man seriously as long as he is playing this horrible Japanese character. And, I probably won't take him seriously when they repackage him - again! Finally, Why the big deal about Punk going into a pub? Why is Cole so very annoying? All in all, I give it a 7.0 and am actually look forward to next week's three-hour tour - almost.

Steve in Pompano Beach, Fla. (3.0): Best: Punk vs. Henry and Bryan vs. Kofi. Worst: everything else. I thought Raw brought the fail again. From having the match for the WWE Title start the show to the "R-Truth Holmes" skits to the overly '80s-ish Cena promo to the overly scripted-sounding Brock Lesnar interview, there was no sign of that strong post-Mania Raw. Instead, it's the same tepid dreck that we got a double dose of last week. To me, the WWE Title match opening the show just lowers the value and prestige of what is supposed to be the company's premiere title. Which begs the question - if the WWE Title is made to seem lesser than what it is, why should anyone care about the match between Punk and Jericho at Extreme Rules? And, for what, Cena vs. Lesnar? At this point, I believe their PPV match is looking like a bad idea with each passing day. And, it was made more evident tonight; Brock's interview was as "controversial" as a smiling baby. He looked and sounded like he was catching up with an old college friend than anything else. As for Cena, where was all that intensity he showed last week when he smirked his way down to the ring, slapped Lesnar, and then ate a fist? Maybe Cena needs to get punched in the mouth more often.

Aaron of Spokane, Wash. (7.0): Best: Punk-Henry and Bryan-Kofi. Worst: Cena-Tensai. So, I thought this Raw was a much better show than last week. It's huge when the crowd is invested, and London was for most of the show... Punk and Henry had another solid match and really help get the show's excitement level up. The post-match with Jericho is getting better and better even with no physical appearance from Jericho. I believe this is how they should have built their WrestleMania match... The R-Truth segments were okay, but just like 60 percent of the roster, he is not being utilized correctly... The Lesnar promo was great and you really get the feeling for the first time in years John Cena is in over his head as the underdog... Wow, D-Bryan has his heel promos down! When he first started, some people said he was a great wrestler and nothing more, but he is proving his pundits wrong. Then, Bryan showed his wrestling ability in a good match with Kofi Kingston. The crowd was clearly behind Bryan with the "Yes" chants for him and "No" chants for Kofi. I got confused when Sheamus came out, though. From the spoilers, it sounded like he got booed, but that either didn't come across TV or it was a classic WWE editing job... Ryder again seems to just be around to enhance upper-mid-carders. It feels like if a talent earns the backing and respect of the fans by himself, McMahon responds that "only I make stars." Ziggler, Bryan, and to some extent Miz would also be in this conversation... Ziggler is so above Clay... Big Show with the IC belt is a waste and so was the tag division match. The tag champs matched up with Show and Khali hurts more than leaving them off the show... To me, Cena's mid-show promo was boring and stale mainly because it revolved too much around John Laurinaitis, but I loved when he said it might be the end of his era followed by "Yes" chants. Then, Cena-Tensai (where's Miz?) was awful. The match was slow with no energy or feeling and what little life the crowd still had was sucked out. And, the finish was a 1990s finish for just about every Japanese gimmick they had. But, overall, the crowd was a great improvement over D.C. last week and up until the last half-hour, I thought the show was very good. YES! YES! NO!

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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