-- 7/2 WWE Raw Reax

Richard H. of Wilmington, Ohio: Monday night's Raw was very disappointing. It felt like a balloon, with the fabric stretched too thin over too much air, just waiting to pop. There was less than 20 minutes of in-ring action, way too much talking, little to no advancement of stories, no real promo for the PPV, nothing standing out, and too many distractions when WWE did put on a match. Best was AlberTensai getting beat (by Kidd, no less!) in a veritable squash. Worst was AlberTensai even being on TV. And, what does it say when the most successful Divas aree a 95-pound "crazy chick" who is only now getting to wrestle matches and a widowed middle-aged cougar with a grating catch-phrase? ... John Cena seems to be getting less air time and it may be helping that he is being administered in smaller doses. I certainly find him less cloying the last few weeks as they have limited his air time. But, when they expand to three hours and find such little air time filler, we can expect Cena over-saturation to return! Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Ken Jenkins of Fort Myers, Fla. (4.0/5.0): Best Match: Cena/Punk vs. Brian/Jericho. Worst match: Big Show vs. Kane. I thought this was an average event until the end. A.J. continues to impress...week after week. Her involvement in the main event is what keeps me watching, oddly enough. This story arc was immensely evolved after the table incident at the end of the show, which I thought sent fans home thinking, "Wow, this is awesome. What will she do next?" The segment in the beginning of the show was priceless until Creative(less) involved Big Show to seemingly squash Kane. Isn't Kane a heel? Isn't Big Show also a heel? Where's the story? Why happened to psychology? Lastly, Paul Heyman perfected his purpose. All in all, Raw left a lot of questions unanswered and that makes for good and eventually great TV if they can show continuity in the "what's next?" frame of mind they've got us in.

Kevin, PWTorch reader (3.5): Best: C.M. Punk and Y2J mocking and chastening Daniel Bryan and his catch phrase. Worst: eight-man tag match. I still don't see the fascination over Daniel Bryan. It's like VKM said if Bryan was walking down the street, would anyone recognize him? The whole angle with A.J. is boring me; WWE has the WWE Title and talented Superstars taking a backseat to the goofiness of her angle that's been done to death. Also, Santino holding the U.S. Title is a sham! The belt used to mean number one contender status. Now, it's about as relevant as a Woo Woo Woo by Zack Ryder prior to Tuesday's Smackdown.

Lozano of Philadelphia, Pa., college student (8.5) Best: A.J. segments. Worst: eight-man tag (sort of). This is the first time I've watched a full episode of Raw in months and it's all because of A.J. Every segment A.J. was in was an automatic thumbs up in my book. I know the whole "psycho chick" thing has been done before, but A.J. does it so realistically. I actually believe she's psycho, which is a good thing. Besides that, this Raw was pretty cool. I'm also liking the underdog Tyson Kidd business and the Brock-Triple H story is keeping my attention. My only problem with the show was the eight-man tag. The match itself was okay, but the ending with Christian dancing with Clay really ticked me off. Why? Well, didn't Christian hate Clay last year when they were on Edge and Del Rio's sides, respectively?

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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 art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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