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Pat McNeill, PWTorch columnist (7.5)

Usually, we have to wait until January for WWE to get serious about its build to WrestleMania. This year, it looks like Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment are starting of a couple weeks early. This was a good show which built toward March 30 while being entertaining enough for two hours of prime time television.

The first real highlight of the night was the promo battle between Chris Jericho and John Layfield. Even though it was just a tease of what's to come, these two men fed off each other verbally in a way that Jericho and Randy Orton didn't. Most fans will be looking forward to more of this next week.

The return of the Ric Flair storyline was a mixed bag. Bruce Mitchell hit on some of the problems with the Flair segment. The other niggling problem was Ric Flair's big concessions speech before the match. Were we supposed to believe that after Flair's loss, McMahon would have security hustle the Nature Boy out of the building without a chance to say farewell? Maybe that should have been more clear.

Carlito and Santino have a goofy chemistry together. Hopefully, WWE will allow their new relationship to play out over the next few months. The main event did its job of establishing Jeff Hardy as a wrestler with the potential to beat Randy Orton at the Royal Rumble. It was an acceptable main event, Shawn Michaels put Hardy over at the end of the match, and the Buffalo fans bought it. What more can you ask for? Thumbs up.

Greg Parks, PWTorch contributor (7.0)

Very good show. The mic work was really good throughout the program, and the wrestling was decent-to-good. It was a tough job to follow up the 15th anniversary show from last week, but they didn't miss a beat. They really laid out intriguing scenarios in a couple different areas and it should be interesting to see where they go with them.
 
Whoever convinced the writers to let Ric Flair cut a relatively long promo should be smiling after tonight. Flair did an awesome job, and while his match with Umaga was not good, most people will only remember the outcome - Flair doesn't have to retire. And his encounter with Triple H in two weeks brings up some questions, such as does Triple H lay down for his mentor and hero and if he does, how will Flair respond, since he wants everyone to bring their "A" game? Or has Triple H been saddened by what Flair has become and want to put him out of his misery?
 
The Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly thing just gets more confusing, as they haven't even addressed that situation in weeks, and it's not playing out in the ring either. At this point, no one even cares, which makes one wonder why they got the belts in the first place.
 
Santino & Carlito team has epic hilarious possibilites, but I wish London & Kendrick weren't the ones jobbing. Still, it was for a good cause. Jericho and JBL also were a highlight, as both men did a great job with their promos, especially Jericho's part challenging JBL's manhood. 
 
The opening segment(s) was pretty funny, as the crowd was into cowering McMahon. Even Triple H hit some high comedy notes, something of a rarity with all the DX humor still lying around. The divas battle before it was a good way to get the crowd involved early. 
 
The main event was a good match, though the crowd didn't seem to buy Orton as a killer heel. Still, it was a feel-good ending with Hardy going over.
 
In other words, this was a much better show than the E's Raw offering in the summer in Buffalo. 

Bruce Mitchell, PWTorch columnist (7.0)

JBL and Chris Jericho were tremendous in their dueling promos segment. The two showed what can still be accomplished with serious, credible, intense, and entertaining mic work that leads, inevitably but not immediately, to a fight.  The respect and love that today's fans feel for Ric Flair is the only thing that saved his stuff tonight. What he says and does is mostly out of character. What sports or entertainment entity doesn't do its homework on its own legends? They need to really put over Jeff Hardy strong if his title challenge with a growing-in-stature Randy Orton and, tonight, they did. He's no Triple H, though. Mr. McMahon, professional screwball, hijacking the first hour is still tiresome.

James Caldwell, Torch columnist (8.5)
 
I promise, there won't be a time-off speech with my review of Raw, but see what happens when the creative team sees the light at the end of the tunnel with a week off from writing original TV programming next week. Suddenly, they turn into A-level Hollywood writers. This week's show was great. Not good. Great. There were four cornerstones on the foundation of this one - Ric Flair promo, fantastic and heated Jericho vs. JBL promo exchange, a great TV main event with Hardy & Michaels vs. Orton & Kennedy, and Triple H doing something intriguing with Vince McMahon for once.
 
It looks like they picked up the McMahon limo explosion angle after taking a five-month hiatus, but this is really intriguing with McMahon. He always gets beat up, but he never does anything about it. He's always been the heel to take his medicine and like it, but never do anything to stop having to take it. I'm at the very least intrigued to see where Vince's program is heading, plus he set up a very, very intriguing Ric Flair vs. Triple H match for the live show in two weeks. A perfect collision of two storylines for Flair and Hunter with all sorts of possibilities. Will it be finger on the chest and Hunter lays down for Flair, or will they have a battle with Flair demanding that all opponents bring their A game? Good set-up.
 
Jericho's serious look this week was a breath of very fresh air. Previously, it seemed he was simply along for the ride and happy to be in WWE having a main event feud. We got a little more glimpse into Jericho's dynamic wrestling personality that JBL brought out of him. They left the Royal Rumble stipulation hanging in the air, though, with JBL saying Jericho wouldn't be in the Rumble match if he shows up on Smackdown. They lacked clarity on that point by the conclusion of the promo, but everything else was terrific.
 
The main event was spot-on. Kennedy was the star, in my eyes. Jeff Hardy already had the superstar pop in the opening segment, and then he got the superstar pop when he finished off Randy Orton to win the tag match, but Kennedy stood out to me more. Kennedy was coasting for a few weeks leading to Armageddon, but he appears to have come alert to a wake-up call to get back on track. Very strong effort from Kennedy. Michaels seemed to be along for the ride this week, but he gives Hardy instant credibility as #1 contender.
 
Ric Flair's promo was outstanding. A real good balance of emotion and careful reflection that's going to be a trademark of his retirement program. His match with Umaga was sluggish at times, but there was enough anticipation in the air with everything being on the line for Flair, that it was more interesting than a three-minute slowdown period in a standard mid-card match. Good booking for Flair to get the win in smart fashion that also reasonably protected Umaga. They haven't done much to protect Umaga recently anyways, but he's someone they can always utilize in a short-term program if needed.
 
Santino is great. I was afraid he wouldn't get mic time, but my fears were quickly erased after the match. Carlito can look on the bright side with his alignment to Santino that he's guaranteed TV time each week... The opening divas match was there, but didn't do much. I'm sure they didn't want Beth Phoenix to get a hometown babyface pop, but she needed to be on the show as the Women's Champion, especially after a successful title defense the previous night... I don't care about the tag division without some backstory. Anything. Something...

Wade Keller, Torch editor (8.5)

The serious push of Jeff Hardy, with a pitch-perfect tag team match victory over champ Randy Orton, would have been enough to make this a winning Raw. Throw in the resumption of the Ric Flair Retirement Challenge, a campy but fun performance from Vince McMahon (picking up where his breakdown left off before the Benoit Family Tragedy), an intriguing new team of Carlitio & Santino Marella, a great sales pitch to watch Raw in two weeks when Flair faces Triple H, a memorable verbal battle between Chris Jericho and JBL, and a strong in-ring main event tag match to fulfill a wrestling quotient, and this stacked up as one of the better Raws of the year.

I'd like to see the backstory explored regarding why Carlito and Santino decided to team together. What is their goal? What's their relatonship like behind the scenes? There's a lot of potential with that duo. There's still untapped potentail for the dynamic between Holly and Cody. Did they get cold feet on the strange undertones, or are they putting it off until after the holidays?

Vince McMahon deseves criticism when overexposd, but this was McMahon at his campy over-the-top best. He knows his audience and the tone of the show. I'm curious where this goes. I'm not sure I get how it was "punishing" Triple H to "force him" to wrestle William Regal and Coach. That's hardly an intimidating situation for Hunter. That Hardy got to be the one who triggered McMahon's breakdown is another exampl of the company getting behind Hardy. He seems more ready than ever. It's crazy to think he's just 30 with all he's accomplished, all of his screwps, his long hiatus, and his stint in TNA. There could be a WWE Title run in his future after all. He's being tested on the mic and passing so far.

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