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By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Monday Night Raw
March 24, 2008
Upcoming PPV: WrestleMania (last episode before PPV)

RAW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the thirty-second 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 (6 weeks)

Raw began with a huge parade of various WrestleMania competitors looking to promote their own matches. Everything started with John Cena, who was soon interrupted by The Big Show. Within minutes, JBL, Randy Orton, Umaga, and Triple H arrived on the scene. The Game summed it up well by saying, "You all make convincing arguments about your place in WrestleMania and in history…. What I am going to say is this: There is one reason—and all of you know it—one reason why we are all in this business…, and it is that WWE Championship sitting on your [Orton's] shoulder. You guys would all change your spots in a heartbeat for a shot at that." Soon everybody started arguing.

Eventually, William Regal stepped in amongst the verbal fighting to announce that the main event on Raw would be a WrestleMania Showcase (an 8-man No Disqualification Match). It would be Orton, Umaga, JBL, and Big Show against Triple H, John Cena, Ric Flair, and Shawn Michaels. Later in the back, Triple H met with John Cena to talk about how he may have lost to Cena two years ago at WrestleMania, but he didn't lose to the better man. Cena responded by saying that the WWE Championship will come back to him come this Sunday. This description doesn't do the segment justice; it was a good, intense verbal joust between two of Raw's best stars.

Soon after the main event commenced, Finlay made an appearance. JBL quickly approached The Fighting Irishman, but Finlay connected with a shillelagh shot to the ribs. JBL, still reeling, was able to floor Finlay with a boot to the face. The two men brawled as a commercial hit. Later in the match, Batista made an appearance, which brought Umaga to the back in a similar brawl. That left only Randy Orton and Big Show on the heel side. Things broke down even more when Big Show got angry at Orton. The WWE Champion yelled at his gargantuan partner, so Big Show hurled him into the ring, gave him a chokeslam, stepped on him, and walked out. Then Triple H and Cena started fighting, followed by Flair and Michaels. After hitting Michaels with a low blow, Flair locked in his Figure Four Leglock on Randy Orton to score the victory for his team to close the show.

WWE employed an interesting strategy when they had multiple contenders in various WrestleMania matches kick off the show. It's a great way to get viewers pumped for the PPV when they are reminded about all of these matches in the same segment. Regal even noted that they all have a legitimate claim at being the standout attraction this Sunday. Everybody involved in the main event played their parts well, and the divisive nature of the concluding match really highlighted the intensity of each WrestleMania contest.

Ending the show with a successful win for Ric Flair was well-done, especially if Sunday is his last night in WWE as an active wrestler. As for the Orton-Cena-Triple H storyline, it took a backseat to the rest of the hype, which was certainly a curious booking tactic. Generally, the primary focus heading into WrestleMania would be a carefully-constructed main event build for the few people involved in the WWE Championship Match. WWE opted instead to promote many of their various Mania matches at the same time. Did it detract from the quality of the top storyline? Probably not. The booking of the main event on Raw provided an interconnection that both hyped the feuds simultaneously and promoted them as exciting, independent WrestleMania bouts.

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

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

THE JEOPARDOUS ULTIMATUM FOR RIC FLAIR (18 weeks w/ 3 weeks hiatus)

Jim Ross talked about how he is reluctant to note that this Raw may be Flair's last. A video package aired featuring highlights of Ric Flair's career with music by Fuel. Later in the show, Flair cut an in-ring promo on Shawn Michaels concerning the match he had against Mr. McMahon on the last Raw. "As a result of last week," Flair said, "I feel like he has no confidence in me, no faith in me; and as a result, I'm losing respect for Shawn Michaels." He then called out Michaels to discuss this misunderstanding.

HBK basically argued that he was Flair's backup, that he was a tool in Flair's arsenal as the Dirtiest Player in the Game. He told Ric that he was only doing what he thought Flair would do. As he began to compliment Flair and rattle off some of Flair's legendary catchphrases, Flair cut him off with an emphatic, "Shut up!" A stunned Michaels listened attentively to what Flair had to say. The Nature Boy went on to say that he's tired of people telling him who he is and that he wanted Michaels to bring his best at Mania because that's what he needs. HBK concluded with an Old Yeller analogy, ending his promo by saying, "I'm going to put you out of your misery."

A lot can be read into how this Michaels-Flair interaction transpired. It was both tense and emotional. Flair's argument is that he's tired of people helping him out; he's tired of receiving sympathy. He can see that his wrestling career is slowly expiring, and he just wants some kind of useful validation. That's where Michaels comes in. Flair needs HBK to bring his best so that he can in turn bring the best out of Flair. The Nature Boy wholeheartedly wants one more match of a lifetime, and that's why he's asked Michaels to step up to the challenge. Overall, this storyline has been adeptly structured and performed; and the match between Flair and Michaels at WrestleMania has the potential to be truly historic.

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

Previous Feuds
Ric Flair: MVP
Shawn Michaels: Randy Orton, Mr. Kennedy

THE BIG SHOW vs. FLOYD MAYWEATHER (6 weeks)

Clips aired of Mayweather touting himself as the best fighter in the world and contrasting himself to The Big Show. He said that Show is bigger and stronger but that he is faster. He also said that he can throw more devastating punches. At one point he said that if he wants to run a red light, he'll run it because he can afford to pay the ticket. Oh, that's a wonderful message to send people. Can he also afford the guilt caused if he ends up killing somebody that way? Some of these lines are pretty clumsy on his part.

WWE opted not to include Floyd Mayweather live on Raw this week, which allowed Big Show to participate in the No Disqualification main event tag match. Perhaps the strategy was to avoid any confrontation before Sunday in an attempt to entice people who may be particularly interested in this match to purchase WrestleMania this weekend. As for the rivalry, it wasn't helped by Mayweather's absence, but the intrigue for the bout remains strong. As I mentioned in the last Smackdown feuds article, the real problem WWE faces revolves around the issue of perception. How can this match possibly take place without hurting one of them in the credibility department? For those who read heavily about wrestling, that becomes the primary selling point.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7.5 [same as last week]

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

UMAGA vs. BATISTA (3 weeks)

Of course, the only portion of the show that really addressed the Umaga-Batista feud (with the exception of Umaga's rant at the beginning of the show) was the main event match. Batista made a brief appearance on the show to rid the contest of Umaga.

Although this short rivalry gets a decent amount of airtime on both Raw and Smackdown, it doesn't feel too important. The concept of brand supremacy continues to cause some confusion. What does it even mean? As for the wrestlers, the match has the potential to be strong. Umaga's past matches with people like Triple H and John Cena have proved to be impressive. And as long as the match finish is clean, the winner will receive a great deal of momentum leaving WrestleMania.

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

Previous Feuds
Umaga: Jeff Hardy, Triple H
Batista: Edge, The Great Khali, Undertaker, MVP

United States Champion MVP vs. Intercontinental Champion CHRIS JERICHO (1 week)

As both a continuation from Smackdown and a Money in the Bank preview, MVP teamed with Carlito to face Chris Jericho and CM Punk. The tag team match ended when Jericho inadvertently clipped Punk with an enziguiri, which led to Porter's successful cover for the victory.

Ideally, the fresh rivalry between MVP and Chris Jericho can outlive the build to WrestleMania. The potential for a great storyline between two of WWE's best talkers shouldn't be dismissed. This week's tag team match served its purpose well, and it's nice to see CM Punk continually placed in the presence of top stars. It's a subtle injection, but something WWE has done brilliantly. In the last few weeks, they've inserted Punk in matches with big names such as Jericho and Edge, all of which raise viewers' collective perception of Punk as a star on the rise.

As for this MVP-Jericho feud, it's likely to be short-lived, but there may be reason to keep it rolling beyond WrestleMania. It started out of necessity when Jeff Hardy slipped up, causing WWE to find a suitable replacement to what was a strong Raw feud. Smackdown's MVP was chosen, and the similarities between the two—their status as secondary title holders, their talk show segments, their egocentric personalities—make for a fitting narrative pairing. Interestingly, this current build feels as if it's more concerned with the people involved and their issues than it is about the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6.5 [up 0.5 since Smackdown]

Previous Feuds
MVP: Rey Mysterio, Ric Flair, Batista
Chris Jericho: Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy

HORNSWOGGLE & FINLAY vs. MR. McMAHON & JBL (29 weeks w/ 1 week hiatus)

The only portion of the show dedicated to this feud besides the opening promo by JBL was the brawl that took Layfield out of the main event. I noted last week that it may have been time to reintroduce Hornswoggle to the storyline, but this week's minimalistic storyline build did an adequate job hyping Sunday's event. Also, the encounter between Finlay and JBL after weeks of keeping distance between them worked well as a teaser for what's to come. In that case, brevity was the key. Overall, it wasn't much because of all the other important matches to promote, but it was effective enough to sustain its intrigue.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8.5 [same as last week]

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

WWE Women's Champion BETH PHOENIX & MELINA & SANTINO MARELLA vs. ASHLEY & MARIA (6 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Things started off with Maria versus Melina, but when Beth Phoenix got involved, Ashley showed up to even the odds. Then Santino interrupted, which brought Lawler into the ring. William Regal then booked a 6-person Intergender Tag Team Match. The bout ended when Santino pinned Maria after Melina and Phoenix floored her with a double-team maneuver.

WWE's focus concerning this particular feud is curious. There has been an unmistakable shift from the Women's Title to Playboy. The good news is that it's really been pushing a diva that may have been considered a jobber to Beth Phoenix in recent months. But why not make the PPV match a Fatal Four-Way for the Women's Title? Perhaps the answer is that they intend to keep the title on The Glamazon, yet they want a feel-good WrestleMania moment for the divas. As a storyline, this feud remains interesting with Santino's comic expressions and gestures. Let's see how the women's division pans out in the weeks following this huge PPV event.

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

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


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Carlito vs. CM Punk
(2) The Great Khali vs. Hardcore Holly


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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