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By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Monday Night Raw
February 25, 2008
Upcoming PPV: WrestleMania (fifth-to-last episode before PPV)

RAW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the twenty-eighth 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)


WWE Champion RANDY ORTON vs. TRIPLE H vs. JOHN CENA (2 weeks)

The show began rather abruptly with William Regal, Triple H, Randy Orton, and John Cena standing in the ring. They had a quick photo op before John Cena starting things off. He told Triple H that part of him was thankful that The Game didn't disqualify him last week, but another part of him didn't appreciate the Pedigree. "I did what was right," Triple H responded. When Cena and Triple H stared one another down, Randy Orton began to speak in slow-mo about how he would remain WWE Champion after WrestleMania.

Cena and Triple H finally decided to simultaneously break stares and attack Orton for provoking them. They threw the WWE Champion out of the ring before hurling fists at one another. Orton, however, returned to give Triple H and John Cena consecutive RKO's. Chants of "you suck" rained down on Randy Orton as he held the WWE Title high over the fallen bodies of his WrestleMania opponents as the photographers' flashbulb's went off.

Later in the back, Mr. Kennedy met up with Orton to announce that when he wins the Money in the Bank Match at WrestleMania, he's going to cash it in that night and beat the winner of the main event for the title. Orton didn't appreciate the threat and stood firm in confidence that he was walking out of that PPV with the title in hand. Also in the back, Cena met with Triple H. The Game talked about how he was out to prove that winning the main event will reflect the outcome of WrestleMania. Cena said that Triple H doesn't have to watch his back, but he does have to watch his own. The main event closed the show, and it ended when Kennedy tapped to Cena's STFU. After the match, Triple H and Cena were again locked in a stare, but Kennedy took advantage with his Mic Check finisher. Triple H did nothing but watch to close the show.

This storyline played an important role on this show, which is what was needed with WrestleMania only about a month away. Triple H looked overly confident, while John Cena seemed as though he knew that he had his work cut out for him. Orton was the cocky champion that somehow doesn't fear two established babyfaces gunning for him. It's a little unbelievable that Orton insists on provoking Cena and Triple H—on trying to get between them in order to shift their focus to him—when he could be playing it like an intelligent heel. If you were Orton, wouldn't it be relatively obvious to let Cena and Triple H grow hatred toward one another?

If there does exist a flaw in this storyline, it's Orton's stupidity as the WWE Champion who has a lot to lose come WrestleMania. Perhaps it would benefit his character to take some time away, to sit back and let the tension and anger between Cena and Triple H boil. What does he have to gain by getting in between them when they are locked in a stare that could easily break into a violent attack?

The two RKO's were temporarily helpful to him, but if anything, they just served as a reminder that Cena and The Game cannot afford to just focus on each other (which ultimately hurts Randy Orton as the reigning champion). If Orton has any shot at walking out of WrestleMania with his title in tact, it's because of the conflict that's growing between his two opponents. The only logical way for Orton to win that Triple Threat Match is to capitalize on the situation after Cena and Triple H take each other out.

Mr. Kennedy's involvement in this episode was a bit intriguing considering the fact that he seems like an unlikely candidate to win Money in the Bank. It felt like his role on the show meant more than simply to job in the main event; he closed the show with some bragging rights after laying Cena out with the Mic Check finisher, and he was the heel who ended the show having done something relevant (as opposed to Orton).

What should you look for next week? Continued tension between Cena and Triple H as well as a more defined role for Mr. Kennedy in the coming weeks

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8.5 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
John Cena: Edge, Umaga, Bobby Lashley, Randy Orton
Randy Orton: Dusty Rhodes, Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy
Triple H: King Booker, Umaga, Jeff Hardy

THE JEOPARDOUS ULTIMATUM FOR RIC FLAIR (14 weeks w/ 3 weeks hiatus)

Shawn Michaels had a one-on-one matchup with Lance Cade, which resulted in a win via disqualification when Murdoch interfered with an elbow drop. Michaels then took both of them out with a pair of Superkicks. Suddenly, Flair's music hit, and The Nature Boy made his way to the ring. "You are absolutely incredible," Flair began. He said that being inducted as the first active wrestler into the WWE Hall of Fame is the highlight of his career. The only thing that could make his career better, however, is to wrestle The Showstopper, Shawn Michaels, at WrestleMania.

That announcement was met with a look of dread from Michaels. HBK quickly recapped Flair's ultimatum. "But I cannot ever in my life imagine a day in this industry without The Nature Boy, Ric Flair. I'm willing to take on just about anything, but I am not gonna to be known as the guy that ended Ric Flair's career. I can't take that, and I don't want it," Michaels declared. Flair was aggravated about the implication that their match would end in a victory for Michaels. He then said that all the nice, respectful words that were said last week mean nothing if Michaels doesn't allow Flair to have the greatest match of his career against him. HBK gave in. "It would be my honor to wrestle you at WrestleMania," Michaels said before shaking his hand.

Nice advancement here. Now WWE has planted yet another definite star-studded matchup on the WrestleMania card. The logic was perfect. Flair saw the segment last week where he was announced as an upcoming Hall of Fame inductee, and he wanted to come out this week and thank HBK for his words. He also wanted a match because of how great the potential would be. Michaels clearly doesn't want the burden of having to participate in such a match. Although it would be an absolute honor, it's a lose-lose situation for him. Even if Michaels wins the match, something bad happens.

If anything here is up for criticism, it would be Michaels's almost instantaneous acceptance. This happens a lot in wrestling, and perhaps they should have stalled for at least a week (using ECW and Smackdown to play into everything). Perhaps Michaels should have stuck to his initial reaction and refused to accept the match because he can't stand the thought of retiring Flair. Maybe some more persuasion could have convinced him by next week. In any event, the mutual respect between these two individuals is unbelievably genuine, and that is going to undoubtedly be the most emotional matchup on the WrestleMania card.

What should you look for next week? A clearer direction for this storyline (i.e. is it going to be consistently friendly or will tension arise between them as the weeks progress?)

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8.5 [up 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Ric Flair: n/a
Shawn Michaels: Randy Orton, Mr. Kennedy

THE BIG SHOW vs. FLOYD MAYWEATHER (2 weeks)

After recapping the events that took place last week on Raw, WWE aired footage from their WrestleMania press conference. The video showed a new confrontation between the mammoth Big Show and the confident, experienced young fighter, Floyd Mayweather. Later in the show, Shaq actually shared his thoughts on the upcoming PPV match. He thinks that Mayweather is going to win.

It's pretty surprising that WWE didn't continue this one with at least Big Show on the program. Instead, the audience just saw recap footage and uneventful video clips. A week featuring nothing new doesn't do anything good for the feud's momentum.

What should you look for next week? A new event to reignite the energy that could have been squelched on this particular episode

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [down 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Big Show: n/a
Floyd Mayweather: n/a

HORNSWOGGLE vs. MR. McMAHON (25 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

Mr. McMahon approached the ring to apologize to his son for last week's events. "For the first time in my life, I made a mistake," McMahon confessed. He said that Hornswoggle had the belt whipping coming, but that JBL's assault should have never happened. "I want to say that I apologize," McMahon continued. He then called out John Bradshaw Layfield to apologize as well. JBL came out and said, "I'm sorry…that I didn't do it sooner."

He continued by looking McMahon straight in the eyes and explaining that he has discovered that Hornswoggle is not Mr. McMahon's son; in fact, he's Finlay's son. He went on to explain that Finlay had known the entire time, but Hornswoggle has no clue. And he even promised to provide documentation as proof to all of this. "And next time Finlay is in a WWE ring, your ring, I'm going to make him admit it," JBL concluded.

Well, this should be considered the biggest Hornswoggle news since he was announced as Mr. McMahon's child six months ago. It didn't seem like a big deal, though; it came out of nowhere. JBL is going to have to provide McMahon (and the viewing audience) proof. Much more information has to be disseminated here because of the circumstances. Where did Layfield find this information? How long has he known? He said that he's sorry he didn't do this sooner, which implies that he knew earlier. Which member of the McMahon family is the one who set this whole thing up? And why did s/he do it? How does this affect Hornswoggle? Has any discussion of the "deal" between McMahon and Finlay been dropped for a reason? What will Finlay's reaction to this news be?

Too much is still unknown at this point, but if WrestleMania is going to serve as the venue at which this matter will be resolved, viewers should be privy to this information as quickly as possible.

What should you look for next week? Specific information regarding Hornswoggle, JBL, and the McMahon family

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7.5 [up 0.5 since last week]

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

WWE Women's Champion BETH PHOENIX vs. CANDICE MICHELLE (2 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

With the women's division in somewhat of a rut as of late, it doesn't help WWE to leave both Beth and Candice off the show, even if they promise a "Bunny Mania Match" for WrestleMania. Candice's return last week should probably have resulted in a continuation of that story, especially considering the fact that Beth actually lost a wrestling contest to another person.

What should you look for next week? Some sign of Beth and Candice

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5

Previous Feuds
Beth Phoenix: Candice Michelle, Mickie James
Candice Michelle: Melina, Beth Phoenix

SANTINO MARELLA (w/ Maria) & CARLITO vs. World Tag Team Champions HARDCORE HOLLY & CODY RHODES (8 weeks w/ 3 weeks hiatus)

Amazingly, a tag team match took place this week between these two teams. During the bout, Lawler couldn't control himself with Maria at ringside, so he threw his crown at her to hopefully make an excuse for some chatting. She brought the crown to his desk and began to converse, but that caused a distraction for Santino. The match concluded with an Alabama Slam delivered to Marella for the babyface win. Santino wasn't pleased with Jerry Lawler after the matchup. Could this be the beginning of a renewed Santino-Lawler feud? Uh, let's hope not.

Unfortunately, this week felt more like it was geared to advance some type of Lawler involvement than it was the actual feud between these two tag teams. Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly didn't really have a presence in this segment despite their victory. At this point, it's still unknown whether Santino and Carlito are still slated to have a matchup against Rhodes and Holly for the World Tag Team Championships.

What should you look for next week? Hints on how Jerry Lawler may play a role in this storyline in the coming weeks as well as any signs that a title match is still in the works

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 4.5 [up 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

PAUL BURCHILL

William Regal sat in his office with Paul Burchill and Katie Lea. He read aloud a letter written by Smackdown GM Vickie Guerrero, which challenged Regal to choose a Raw representative to face a Smackdown representative at WrestleMania for "brand supremacy." Regal immediately nominated Umaga, but Katie slid to his couch and gave a passionate recommendation for her brother. Regal reacted by telling Paul that he has a tremendous future, but that he still has to see more from him. Paul agreed and offered to stop by anytime.

This was an interesting little segment for Burchill. It sufficed as an adequate scene to provide some more information about his character (as well as Katie's). Regal played his part well, explaining that he still has more to prove. It's a realistic statement, and this segment's purpose was therefore twofold.

First, it served as an announcement for another pretty big WrestleMania match, although more needs to be explained about the stipulation of brand supremacy and what that really means to anyone. And secondly, it helped get Burchill and Katie some more airtime without having them compete in a quick and silent squash match. There's nothing wrong with that. Also, having Burchill and Katie shown hobnobbing with the General Manager is a nice way to subtly increase their importance as heels on the show.

What should you look for? A continuation of squash matches and more commentary that cements these characters as siblings

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

Previous Feuds
Paul Burchill: n/a


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Santino vs. Maria
(2) Paul Burchill vs. ?
(3) JBL vs. Finlay
(4) Candice vs. Beth Phoenix
(5) Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy
(6) Umaga vs. D.H. Smith


Thanks for reading, everyone. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, feel free to email me at newthtorch@hotmail.com. I greatly appreciate all the feedback that I receive, and I will respond to every email. 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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