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By Chris Newth, PWTorch.com Specialist Contributor

WWE Monday Night Raw
September 24, 2007
Upcoming PPV: No Mercy (2 episodes left until PPV)

RAW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the seventh edition of Raw Storylines and Feuds.

For those wondering about the Intrigue Level system that I employ, you can refer to the numbers as follows:

10 (excellent), 9 (great), 8-6 (very good, good, pretty good), 5 (decent; has its good and bad qualities), 4-3 (needs work, poor), 2 (bad), 1 (terrible)

Before I delve into this week's feuds list, I just want to mention something about the storyline jumble used on Raw in its opening segment. It seems as though the show opened with a scene involving Jonathan Coachman, Mr. McMahon, and a voluminous amount of story overlapping. In that one segment, the spate of rivalries that were cited included McMahon vs. Hornswoggle, McMahon vs. Cena, McMahon vs. Triple H, Carlito vs. Triple H, Cena vs. Orton, Cena vs. Coach, Hornswoggle vs. Coach, and even Regal vs. Coach.

Some of these are already officially ongoing feuds, while others are nothing more than potential rivalries waiting to be featured. It would be a cumbersome task to analyze everything that went on here. Instead, I'll present the more important (and more likely) feuds on the list. If events continue to complicate matters next week, a single heading and complete discussion will be used instead of the "single person vs. single person" format.

WWE Champion JOHN CENA vs. RANDY ORTON (10 weeks)

WWE's biggest, most successful current feud got lost in the entanglement of storylines that were presented this week. Raw seemed overly directionless for the second-to-last episode before a PPV. Convoluted plot overlapping can be valuable and interesting as a defense against bland, black-and-white storytelling, but it becomes problematic when it hinders specific storylines.

Unfortunately, that seemed to be the case with the Cena-Orton feud this week. It just seemed that John Cena was too distracted with other things to adequately pull this story's weight alone. The concentration of the show without Orton's direct presence certainly detracted from the one-on-one WWE Championship match they have scheduled for No Mercy.

Let's break this one down by person. What did Randy Orton do this week? Well, actually, his role, although not quite as live or as tangible, exemplified the strongest attempt to further their specific feud this week. His pre-recorded promo hit multiple topics regarding the situation with John Cena at the moment, and he did it convincingly. Orton should be praised for his current work—as should Cena—because it just sounds so fluent. When he speaks, there is this candid quality to the words, as if he actually believes what he is saying.

Two parts of the promo stuck out as being most significant, both of which involved his thoughts on Unforgiven. First, he talked about Cena's actions during the WWE Title match, namely getting disqualified to retain the championship. After suggesting that Cena could tell he was losing the match, Orton interpreted The Champ's actions as nothing more than a way to desperately hold onto his coveted title.

The other piece of significance inherent in Orton's promo revolves around the issue of how Cena used his father after their match. "But Cena, I'll give you credit. You're smart. You took all the focus off screwing me over by having your pathetic father kick me in the head after the match." That's actually a logical mode of thought if you're a disgruntled heel searching for excuses. It was a strong promo with good delivery, and it covered a lot of bases. Nicely done.

What about John Cena's role this week? Well, that's where this feud's weakness lay. Because Orton was not present in the arena, WWE gave Cena another threat—having Jonathan Coachman force a title surrender. It's not that the last segment of the show was weak per se. In fact, the way they inserted Hornswoggle into the ending to round out the circle of the show and bank on the foreshadowing provided earlier—Mr. McMahon's acknowledgment that McMahon authority goes unquestioned—was creative and well-orchestrated. However, it certainly took our minds away from the looming Orton threat.

Thus far, the writers for Raw have done an admirable job molding this storyline into an engaging feud between two top WWE stars. Each week, the rivalry has steadily grown with new and interesting variables thrown in along the way. Randy Orton's absence coupled with the new threats for Cena took some of the steam out of this rivalry. On the bright side, WWE has another week to get it back before the big culmination match at No Mercy.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 9.5 [down 0.5 from last week]

Previous Feuds
John Cena: Bobby Lashley
Randy Orton: Dusty Rhodes & Cody Rhodes

MR. McMAHON vs. HORNSWOGGLE (3 weeks)

So, Mr. McMahon is a nice guy after all. Well, not really. He was clearly trying to distract Hornswoggle with other matters so that he could tend to his Triple H problems. After all, in every other scene he was involved in, there was absolutely no change in his character. Furthermore, Melina later revealed that she had agreed to go out with him for a title shot.

So this feud took a nice (no pun intended) turn this week. At least it's something different. Plus, with all of Mr. McMahon's other problems recently, it's understandable that he would take this approach. The dynamic between these two is quite interesting. Hornswoggle is unable to see his father as an evil man. He just wants love. He's been built as a very simplistic, child-like character in the last few weeks. Is this good? Well, it's certainly preferable to a non-speaking, ambiguous figure who didn't even have a name for months after debuting on Smackdown.

Halting the Title Surrender Ceremony at the end of Raw was a good plan. It not only provided a twist ending, but it also gave us insight into Hornswoggle's personality. He's a good guy deep down, and he probably can't predict the trouble he may be in next week. That's an interesting point to note. Hornswoggle will continue to act as a babyface while not recognizing Mr. McMahon's heel nature. If done right, this story can be very effective.

Unfortunately, it's inception a couple weeks ago fell flat when viewers were disappointed that McMahon's son wasn't a wrestler that could feud in matches against either his father or a surrogate to The Chairman. Hornswoggle has the potential to be cheered (and the live audience usually loves him), but some people still have a bitter taste in their mouths after the "big reveal" two weeks ago.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6.5 [same as last week]

TRIPLE H vs. CARLITO (5 weeks)

This one might have ended this week. In the Steel Cage Match on Raw, Triple H expectedly beat Carlito, not in the match itself, but in a post-match beat down. Carlito's role in any future story with Triple H is ostensibly over. With this gimmick match meant to say something about their rivalry, the decimation by The Game made the statement emphatically clear: Carlito is no challenge for Triple H. It's not as if this fact wasn't clear when Carlito lost at Unforgiven despite having the one-sided no disqualification stipulation; however, Monday's episode made it all the more evident.

It seems like the match on Raw served a transitional purpose more than anything. The feud between Triple H and Mr. McMahon (which is discussed next) has been brewing for weeks, so this handicapped Steel Cage Match shifted the focus from a diminished speed bump on Triple H's path (Carlito) to a more serious threat (McMahon).

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 4 [down 0.5 from last week]

Previous Feuds
Triple H: King Booker
Carlito: Umaga

MR. McMAHON vs. TRIPLE H (5 weeks)

The feud here was solidified this week as Triple H and Mr. McMahon finally had a physical confrontation. McMahon, tired of The Game's antics over the course of the last month, placed himself in the Steel Cage Match on Raw to help Carlito defeat his real life son-in-law in order to blemish his undefeated record since returning from injury.

The story this week was about McMahon's obsession with tarnishing Triple H's record and hitting him where it hurts the most—the win/loss column. The idea has some merit, although Triple H has only competed in a few matches since returning at Summerslam. It would be safer to see the next step in the feud before putting to much weight to this week's events.

Still impressive, however, is how WWE can often make unique booking choices. For example, instead of slating a big match between McMahon and Triple H for a date far in the future, they scheduled a match between the two next week. It seems odd that a decision like that is made so soon after this last encounter. Although the match is sure to be interrupted by someone or something (isn't Umaga supposed to be back soon?), it's still an interesting choice that will ideally result in increased ratings. The more conventional approach would be to have more promo-type build until a later in-ring meeting. Variety's nice, though.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

Previous Feuds
Mr. McMahon: Bobby Lashley
Triple H: King Booker

CODY RHODES vs. HARDCORE HOLLY (1 week)

The inherent potential in this feud is worth the attempt to implement a strong storyline. Of course, the story here is the up-and-coming kid versus the experienced wrestler. Hardcore Holly epitomizes the grizzled ring veteran. He's an older man with a tough guy attitude. Cody, on the other hand, is a young guy who just made it to Raw within the last couple of months. This juxtaposition of age and experience is interesting in and of itself.

The story seems to have started off right, too. If this will basically be supported by in-ring storytelling, you need the heel to provide a challenge or threat. Since there's no reason for Hardcore Holly to cheat to win against Cody Rhodes in the opening match during this type of story (amateur vs. veteran), having Holly get the clean victory with the Alabama Slam is probably the best way to go. Now the challenge set forth for Cody will be trying to find a way to beat this guy. He will struggle, possibly losing more matches, until he improves. It's also a good way to "track" this improvement if the announcers do a good job examining the events, and it's safe to assume that they will.

There is something here, and the upside can be very promising for the up-and-comer, Cody Rhodes.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

Previous Feuds
Cody Rhodes: Randy Orton
Hardcore Holly: n/a

PAUL LONDON & BRIAN KENDRICK vs. World Tag Team Champions LANCE CADE & TREVOR MURDOCH (4 weeks)

It seems as though WWE isn't certain about pushing Kendrick and London against Cade and Murdoch right now. Perhaps it is more complicated, though. It could be that they want to throw more teams into the mix to add interest. Enter The Highlanders.

Okay, so what makes a weak, downplayed, unoriginal, gimmicked team a bit better? Well, a heel turn of course. That's at least the temporary fix; whether there will be a lasting effect remains to be seen. For now, they've entered the picture because they want Cade and Murdoch to defend the titles against a team that hasn't been given a shot—themselves.

So during the tag match between London/Kendrick and Cade/Murdoch, they interrupted, causing a disqualification that resulted in a win for London and Kendrick. That win should—according to what we were told—result in a title match for The High Fliers. If WWE intended to have that incident disrupt the potential title opportunity, they should have gone another way with it. Otherwise, they are insulting the intelligence of their audience. People know that London and Kendrick won that matchup.

From here, this could turn into a feud between The Highlanders and the team of London and Kendrick, or it may go a different direction involving the World Tag Team Titles. At least there is more going on now.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 4 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
London and Kendrick: no notable feuds since being drafted from Smackdown
Cade & Murdoch: The Hardys

Women’s Champion CANDICE MICHELLE vs. BETH PHOENIX (5 weeks)

Well, not too much happened here this week. Beth and Candice participated in a mixed tag match with Shelton Benjamin and Jeff Hardy respectively. The match went ten minutes and showed solid wrestling by all competitors. As for storyline advancement, there wasn't much of it. Beth Phoenix's character was fueled with another win over the reigning Women's Champion, which was vehemently met with a chorus of vociferous boos in Candice's hometown. There's one way to inflate a heel character.

The only other thing to note here regards a third person altogether. Does Melina get her title shot? It is assumed that she will go on a date with Hornswoggle, presumably during the week sometime, but possibly next Monday on Raw so that they can film it. If she does, when will she get a title shot?

And what if Hornswoggle finds out either by seeing the video from Raw where Melina admitted to a prying Jillian that she's only doing it because of the deal or by hearing about it from anyone who knows (such as anyone who watched Raw this week)? I'm not sure how I feel about the whole issue of the camera placement or the idea that secrets are being projected to millions of people behind characters' backs, but I usually don't have trouble suspending my disbelief that much more in order to enjoy it.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Candice Michelle: Melina
Beth Phoenix: n/a



Last week, Shelton Benjamin lost to Jeff Hardy in a singles match for the Intercontinental Championship. This week, he's back, this time teaming with Beth Phoenix, the woman looking to take the gold from Candice Michelle. No reason has been given as to why Benjamin is feuding with Hardy, or why he was given a title shot last week. In the short-term, it won't matter, but any information could help if WWE continues to keep this one going.

Despite a lack of narrative backing, this feud can still be strong as a wrestling-based unit. Both Hardy and Benjamin have the necessary charisma and athleticism to pull it off seamlessly if given the chance.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

Previous Feuds
Jeff Hardy: Umaga
Shelton Benjamin: Paul London & Brian Kendrick

SANTINO MARELLA (w/ Maria) vs. RON SIMMONS (8 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Well, it finally happened. The match that has been brewing for over two months took place this week on Raw as Santino Marella went head-to-head with Ron Simmons in an official wrestling bout. The result saw Marella take an early exit, leaving the victorious (by count out) Simmons in the ring with nothing but a look of confusion and his signature line.

The lack of a conclusive finish may be indicative of a continuation to this storyline. It would be difficult to imagine WWE protecting Simmons in any way. This would be a great opportunity for Santino to gain some in-ring credibility to accompany his awesome heel personality. But if it continues, as predicted, how long will it go? The only piece of evidence pointing to a different theory about this feud's continued longevity is the video montage featuring Santino astutely critiquing Stone Cold Steve Austin's film The Condemned.

Another interesting angle is the Santino-Maria relationship. Maria is becoming increasingly disconcerted with Santino's actions, yet she hasn't found enough reason to break things off. This week, she reluctantly followed Santino as he left mid-match. Her involvement had much better possibilities, but since WWE has already chosen an emotion for her, the opportunities from here have become somewhat limited.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [down 0.5 from last week]

Previous Feuds
Santino Marella: Umaga
Ron Simmons: n/a

FEUD CONCLUSIONS

(1) Cody Rhodes vs. Daivari
(2) Triple H vs. Carlito?

POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Cody Rhodes vs. Hardcore Holly?
(2) Santino Marella vs. Steve Austin?
(3) Kendrick & London vs. The Highlanders?
(4) Hornswoggle vs. Jonathan Coachman?
(5) John Cena vs. Jonathan Coachman?
(6) William Regal vs. Jonathan Coachman?
(7) Mr. McMahon vs. John Cena?

Thanks for reading, everyone. If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to email me. I appreciate all the feedback I receive: newthtorch@hotmail.com.

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