By Chris Newth, PWTorch.com Specialist Contributor

WWE Monday Night Raw
December 31, 2007
Upcoming PPV: Royal Rumble (fourth-to-last episode before PPV)

RAW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the twentieth 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)

Raw stuck to the basics this week, hitting practically every rivalry but one. It did a nice job furthering the main event feud while attempting to get a lot more heat on the WWE Champion, Randy Orton. Also, it had a great side match featuring Ric Flair and Triple H with monumental implications. So overall, the show achieved many different goals. It helped strengthen the main event, it continued the Ric Flair career-in-jeopardy angle, it introduced JBL successfully, it helped raise intrigue in the McMahon-Regal situation, and it began the month-long journey to the Royal Rumble.

Also on the show, in the first-aired Royal Rumble Qualifying Match, Umaga faced Hacksaw Jim Duggan. To everyone's surprise, the match ended up being a quick squash for Umaga. The Samoan Bulldozer made quick work of Duggan, hitting his signature moves before winning by pinfall after a Samoan Spike. Umaga is being used more as a loose heel right now. It would be nice to see him get involved in some type of feud. But I guess it's still better than getting airtime as infrequently as his monster heel colleague, Snitsky.

Now to the feuds!

WWE Champion RANDY ORTON vs. JEFF HARDY (3 weeks)

The show opened with Randy Orton in center ring. He began a promo about the New Year and touted himself as any good heel would. Eventually, Jeff Hardy interrupted the Legend Killer, and the Rainbow-Haired Warrior had something of his own to say. He told Orton that he has something that the WWE Champion doesn't have—momentum. A clip ran depicting the clean pinfall in a tag team match that Hardy got over Orton two weeks prior. Orton attempted an RKO, but Jeff reversed it into a Twist of Fate, continuing the current flurry of momentum.

A backstage scene then took place featuring the Hardys. Matt told Jeff that he wanted to visit Raw to support his brother during Jeff's trip to the top. They exchanged respectful words, and it ended with Jeff promising that he'd give Matt a title shot if he won the belt at the Rumble. Basically, this short segment served to set up another segment later in the show.

So, Jeff Hardy was slated to face Santino Marella. After a few minutes into the bout, video aired of Randy Orton live backstage. He talked about Jeff's self-proclaimed momentum before giving Matt Hardy a swift kick to the skull. Jeff immediately ran to the back to check on his brother. When he got there, Matt was prone on the floor as medics circled him. Jeff expressed a lot of anger after that incident.

Overall, I think WWE is on the right track with this one. There's no doubt that more work lies ahead in order to bring this thing to a boil, but they certainly are beginning to show improvement, particularly with Randy Orton and a new feud theme. In terms of Randy Orton, they are harkening back to the vicious and vile character he once was (during his feud with John Cena months ago). Kicking Matt Hardy in the head even made sense for his character at that point. Here's this guy who's witnessing a dramatic rise in Jeff Hardy's popularity and skill. And that same night, Hardy one-upped the champion by delivering a Twist of Fate.

Also, Jeff Hardy—and, in a broader sense, the feud itself—has adopted a new theme that revolves around the notion of momentum. Jeff's rise to the top can most appropriately be described as an intense boost of momentum. He's beaten Triple H to reach number one contention, and he's recently beaten Randy Orton with a Swanton Bomb on Raw. Now he's almost flaunting that momentum to Orton (at least in the opening segment, where he acknowledged it explicitly). So, this theme of momentum is being woven into the feud itself, and both participants are looking to gain it for leverage as they head into their title match at the Royal Rumble. Nicely done.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8 [up 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Jeff Hardy: Umaga, Mr. Kennedy
Randy Orton: Dusty Rhodes, Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho

THE JEOPARDOUS ULTIMATUM FOR RIC FLAIR (6 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

This week, Flair was in the biggest challenge of his in-ring life when he went face-to-face with The Game. It started with Triple H being interviewed backstage about the match. He told Grisham what Flair mentioned on Smackdown—that if the Nature Boy loses, it will be because he faced the best. Suddenly, Mr. McMahon appeared with Raw GM William Regal to announce that if Triple H lost his match against Flair, he would not be eligible to compete in the Royal Rumble. It was Triple H's Royal Rumble spot versus Flair's in-ring career; those are some stakes!

Later in the show, Triple H met backstage with Ric Flair to talk about the potential consequences of their upcoming matchup. Triple H openly acknowledged the apparent disadvantage Flair has. He asked Flair if he really believes that he can beat him at this stage in their respective careers. Flair didn't accept the implication that a win for The Game was inevitable. He expressed confidence in himself. They ended by agreeing to be friends whatever the outcome may be.

The main event match with huge stipulations then commenced. Flair and Triple H fought at decent length before the match ended by disqualification when William Regal showed up to interfere. He punched Flair in the head with his brass knuckles, forcing the referee to stop the match and announce Flair the winner. Triple H couldn't believe it, as he seemed very close to putting Flair away after hitting the Pedigree. When Flair was able to make it to his feet, he hugged Triple H, and they proved that friendship did indeed survive the tense matchup.

William Regal's interference was an interesting twist. Was he doing it to help Flair, hurt Triple H, or both? If he only did it to help out Flair so that his career can stay intact, then why did he use brass knuckles? Simply punching Flair from ringside would have sufficiently earned Flair the DQ win. Anyway, it seems to be an open-ended story at the moment, tempting viewers back to Raw this week along with the Raw Roulette format. This is like that whole tree falling in the forest with no one around riddle: If a guy attacks a babyface in a babyface vs. babyface matchup, can it possibly make him a babyface himself?

Overall, this Flair ultimatum is going to bring the Nature Boy into many challenges. From the very beginning it has been making Flair the target of attack for young heels who want to make a real name for themselves by ending the career of the legendary Ric Flair. The next of those heels seems to be MVP on Smackdown. It would be great if another heel on Raw could be looking to do the same thing. Then again, that would probably be too much for Ric Flair, having to appear on both Raw and Smackdown each week, perhaps wrestling on each show. Hopefully however, this upcoming stint with MVP will be somewhat long-term and will bring the Nature Boy back to Smackdown for awhile. Then again, I can also see the benefit of having Flair face a vast variety of opponents before Wrestlemania.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Ric Flair: n/a

HORNSWOGGLE vs. MR. McMAHON (17 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Mr. McMahon talked to William Regal backstage about his plans for continued tough love for Hornswoggle. Regal gleefully accepted the role of Hornswoggle's opponent, telling the Chairman that he wouldn't let him down. Of course, he first wanted to make sure that Finlay wasn't around. McMahon assured him that the Fighting Irishman was in Ireland (where he always seems to be whenever he's not needed). The two seemed content by the end of their discussion.

The match then took place, and Regal and Hornswoggle began what became—as practically every Hornswoggle match inevitably becomes—a storyline in the disguise of a match. Regal grabbed the Leprechaun and lifted his arm. His fist was poised to strike, but something inside him must have tugged at his heartstrings. McMahon, who was watching anxiously at ringside, jumped onto the ring apron and demanded that Regal attack Hornswoggle.

Regal attempted again, but it was to no avail. He couldn't hit Mr. McMahon's son. The Chairman tempted Regal by throwing him his patented brass knuckles. Regal put them on, but still couldn't convince himself to punch Hornswoggle. It was a little awkward for McMahon to expect Regal to hit Hornswoggle with brass knuckles when he couldn't even do it with his bare fist. So Regal let Hornswoggle go, and the match was basically over. McMahon then entered the ring, screamed some kind of tirade against Regal for being sympathetic and weak, and then told Raw's General Manager to leave the ring.

It was clear that Regal was torn during the match between doing what was right and doing what his boss was demanding of him. And Mr. McMahon questioned Regal's actions. He wanted to know what was going on inside Regal that prevented him from throwing that punch.

Overall, this has brought the storyline some intrigue, particularly because of William Regal's actions (both in this segment and in the main event). Right now, Hornswoggle's problems with Mr. McMahon are getting a bit tired because nothing new is happening; however, if it acts as an agent for change in other areas, it shouldn't be discounted. This week, it may have propelled the face turn for William Regal. The only problem I'm having with it at this point is that Hornswoggle, despite being privy to all the challenges his father's putting him through, is not saying anything. I mean, this week he was right there as his father screamed into the microphone, demanding that Regal hit him.

It would be possible to believe that Hornswoggle just wants to be loved, and that he is willing to overlook his father's flaws and the whole tough love thing, but it doesn't seem that way. Instead, it looks like this big flaw in the storyline where Mr. McMahon makes matches pitting Hornswoggle against people like Coach, Regal, and The Great Khali, and then Hornswoggle the next week is hugging his dad like nothing ever happened, only to find out later that he has yet another challenge. How many weeks will it take before something happens?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [up 0.5 from last week]

Previous Feuds
Mr. McMahon: Bobby Lashley, Triple H, Hornswoggle

CHRIS JERICHO vs. JBL (3 weeks)

JBL made his first Raw appearance as part of the show this week to a lengthy, dragged-out introduction complete with a multi-part series of pyrotechnics. It was a nice way to make it all seem more important than it probably is. JBL then cut a promo about how he has tons of money and how he plans to buy and take things that he wants. He argued that because he has so much money, he is better than everyone else.

Suddenly, Chris Jericho made his first appearance of the night. He launched himself at the Wall Street Wizard, and the two had a brief brawl that was quickly disrupted by officials from the back. After returning from commercial, JBL was shown screaming at workers backstage. He complained about Jericho attacking him and soon reverted back into sheer JBL mode where touting financial success means that he can do whatever he wants. It's a good character with a lot of parable possibilities.

This new feud brought JBL to Raw, which provokes an interesting question. It seems as though with JBL as Raw's newest star, Monday's show is now saturated with main event talent. Could too many people at the top of the card actually hurt a show? I can see two possibilities with this potential problem. First, many of this big talent will eat up the mid-card acts and create a show where the audience doesn't clearly see a single feud at the top of the card. With so many big names, it won't feel as though a particular rivalry stands out as the most important, even if it may revolve around the WWE Title. The second scenario is that because all of the main eventers cannot possibly fit at the top of the show in the biggest one or two feuds, they are spread out and are soon perceived by viewers as not-as-important mid-card-esque acts.

Wouldn't that hurt their potential as assets to other brands? I mean, just look at Raw's main event level talent: Triple H, Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, Umaga, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, JBL, and guys that will return upon injury like Bobby Lashley and John Cena. Another guy that's making a name for himself and may enter that level soon is Mr. Kennedy. And all of them are on Raw. Wouldn't WWE be better served if they transferred some of those guys to the other brands (unless they consider ECW a lost cause at this point)?

What do you think? Email me at newthtorch@hotmail.com with two or three sentences describing your thoughts on the issue. I'll be looking for short, to-the-point responses to post in next week's column.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Chris Jericho: Randy Orton
JBL: n/a

CODY RHODES & HARDCORE HOLLY vs. LANCE CADE & TREVOR MURDOCH (4 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

It was a no-show by the participants of this feud. Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly made a brief backstage appearance to wish Flair luck, but beyond that, there was no sign of anyone here.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 4 [down 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Cody Rhodes: Randy Orton
Hardcore Holly: n/a
Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch: The Hardys, London & Kendrick

WWE Women's Champion BETH PHOENIX vs. MICKIE JAMES (6 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

A Triple Threat Match continued the feud this week between Mickie James and Beth Phoenix. The third participant was former Women's Champion Melina. The match only lasted a few minutes, and it ended with The Glamazon getting another victory, this time over Melina. At the last minute, Mickie James attempted to break the count, but she was unable to make it there in time. When the match was over, Mickie looked disheartened, as if she had lost one of the few chances she ever gets at the gold.

Overall, Beth Phoenix continues her run as the dominant female in the division. She's beating her opponents with relative ease, and her hold on the gold seems to be vise-grip tight. This storyline might be great for Phoenix's character, but to make this an engaging feud, WWE will have to help Mickie out here with a run of victories herself or a surprise win over The Glamazon in a non-title match. How can fans get into the action when they know Phoenix will ultimately end up on top?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Beth Phoenix: Candice Michelle
Mickie James: Melina

SHAWN MICHAELS vs. MR. KENNEDY (6 weeks)

Raw's first match of the night featured Shawn Michaels versus Mr. Kennedy one-on-one. The two battled it out in a feud that seems more ring-based. That is to say that instead of having some strong outside problem that can fuel the rivalry, Kennedy and Michaels lean more toward in-ring accomplishments. And this week, Kennedy got the best of HBK when he surprisingly pulled off a clean victory after hitting his relatively new finisher.

Overall, this week's events may have been exactly what the feud needed; it certainly was exactly what Mr. Kennedy needed. Talk about momentum. This guy just got a clean pinfall victory over the legendary Shawn Michaels. He's going to have to milk this victory because it won't happen that often. Hopefully he will rub it in Michaels's face in the next few weeks so that viewers don't forget it ever happened. Oh, and now HBK's ultimate win against Kennedy down the road at a pay-per-view event will not be an "oh, I saw that coming," but rather a "finally he got Kennedy back!" Well done.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7.5 [up 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Shawn Michaels: Randy Orton
Mr. Kennedy: Jeff Hardy

SANTINO MARELLA (w/ Maria) & CARLITO vs. PAUL LONDON & BRIAN KENDRICK (3 weeks)?

This week didn't really delve further into the Santino/Carlito friendship, but we did get a glimpse of Santino partaking in some in-ring action against Jeff Hardy. As mentioned before, the match concluded with Randy Orton forming a backstage distraction, which caused Hardy to race to the back mid-match.

Overall, it is still unknown whether Marella and Carlito will actually feud with Paul London and Brian Kendrick. That, however, is really not the issue. The most intriguing element of this storyline is going to be the interaction between Santino and Carlito (and Maria). Viewers would love to see a mid-card act that is as entertaining as that potential combination. It will be welcoming to see Carlito fit into this role after not getting as far as everyone probably hoped with his more serious endeavors. It would have been nice to see them interact more, but Raw Roulette is coming up, and my guess is that they will be involved in one of those stipulation matches.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [down 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Santino Marella: Umaga, Ron Simmons, Val Venis, Steve Austin
Carlito: Triple H
London & Kendrick: Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Santino Marella & Carlito vs. Paul London & Brian Kendrick?
(2) Mr. McMahon vs. William Regal?
(3) Triple H vs. Mr. McMahon?
(4) Triple H vs. William Regal?
(4) Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch?


Thanks for reading, everyone. If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to email me at newthtorch@hotmail.com. I appreciate all the feedback I receive. Please insert a word in the subject line that deals with a wrestling topic or write something such as "WWE," "feud," or "Charlie Haas" so that I know it's not junk mail.

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