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By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Monday Night Raw
March 31, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Backlash (fourth-to-last episode before PPV)

RAW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the thirty-third 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)


THE JEOPARDOUS ULTIMATUM FOR RIC FLAIR (19 weeks w/ 3 weeks hiatus)

This week was the huge Ric Flair Farewell Address after losing his Career Threatening Match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania the night before. They began with vintage footage of Flair against Harley Race in 1983. They also aired video from 1989 when Ric Flair faced Ricky Steamboat and the 1992 Royal Rumble Match where Flair won the WWE Title. Dusty Rhodes also cut a taped promo about how Ric Flair is beyond a legend or an icon; he's a "national treasure."

Later in the show, Shawn Michaels addressed the crowd in a solemn state. He talked about how he was asked to do a job at WrestleMania: he was asked to be the Show Stopper. At one point, he had to pause to collect himself. "I have too much respect and love for Ric Flair to have given him anything less [than my A-game]," Michaels continued. He said that he is now responsible for ending the career of the greatest wrestler that ever lived. "That's a burden," Michaels said sentimentally, "that I get to carry with me the rest of my life. Lucky me." And with that said, HBK exited the ring and walked up the entrance ramp without any music.

Backstage, Michaels ran into people with various perspectives. Raw GM William Regal told him that it was something that needed to be done. Then, Michaels caught Batista giving him an intense, critical stare. Michaels walked away with his head tilted slightly downward.

The Ric Flair Farewell Address started with Flair simply thanking everyone, including all the fans that were passionately chanting his name. He said that he wasn't sad about not wrestling anymore because he has had the best wrestling career of all time. Suddenly, Triple H came out, and that's when Flair could no longer hold his composure. "I love you man," Triple H said, "And thank you. Thank you." Then the Four Horsemen came out, followed by Batista, Ricky Steamboat, Harley Race, Greg Valentine, Dean Malenko, Chris Jericho, John Cena, Ric Flair's family, and Shawn Michaels. Then Triple H invited anyone else who wanted to thank Flair, and the entire WWE roster crowded the ramp and began chanting "Thank you, Ric."

The delivery by Shawn Michaels in his solo promo was pitch-perfect. The very last line—the very last two words—carried enough emotional weight to allow the audience to see his character's current disposition. And the feeling is perfectly warranted. During the storyline, he wasn't completely excited about facing Ric Flair; in fact, he expressed some concern about it. But at the same time, he didn't want to turn down a man he looked up to. He didn't want to decline Flair's request. And now, after everything is said and done, he's feeling deep regret for doing exactly what he was asked. Overall, this was great. The continuation was logical, the tone was set just right, and the emotion was palpable. Nicely done.

As for the rest of the Flair-themed Raw, this will be my shortest analysis ever: Absolutely incredible. Congratulations, Ric. And thank you for all the awesome years.

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

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

WWE Champion RANDY ORTON vs. JBL (1 week)?

Raw began with what Jim Ross assumed were technical glitches. Cena's and Triple H's entrance music went off for a few seconds, tricking the crowd into thinking that two of their favorite babyfaces were coming out to make an appearance. But instead, it was WWE Champion Randy Orton arriving to tout his latest accomplishment: a win at WrestleMania. Orton stated, "You people never wanted to give me any credit. Well now, whether you like it or not, you have no choice but to show me respect." He said that Triple H and John Cena don't deserve rematches and that there is a new era in WWE called the Age of Orton. That's when JBL's music hit.

Layfield agreed with Orton about how Triple H and Cena don't deserve another WWE Title Match, but he told The Legend Killer that he certainly does. He ended the promo by saying, "If you think [the fans] dislike you as champion, they're going to hate me." When JBL walked out, Matt Hardy made another surprise return to attack Orton. They briefly brawled at ringside, but Orton eventually got the better of the fight as the segment ended. After a short commercial break, Regal confronted Hardy about the attack. Hardy, not quite livid (but certainly frustrated), said that he didn't forget when Orton kicked him in the head during his appendix injury and that he wants a match against the WWE Champion.

The Hardy-Orton match ended when The Legend Killer caught Hardy by surprise with an RKO for the victory. After his match, JBL silently walked into Orton's locker room, grabbed the title for a quick look, dropped it back in Orton's lap, and left. No words were spoken.

It was the best decision all around to keep Randy Orton WWE Champion. Look at some of the factors. First, both the ECW Title and the World Heavyweight Title went to babyface stars. It wouldn't be beneficial for WWE to have to follow the same formula of babyface champion having to deal with heel challengers on all three brands. They needed to get the ECW Championship off of Chavo since things haven't been quite exciting on that particular brand, and the World Heavyweight Title could have gone to either Edge or Taker and it would have been great regardless. Of course, they wanted to send the fans home happy, add to Taker's impressive winning streak, give Undertaker another run with the gold, and change the pace on Smackdown. So there was ample reason to change the other two titles that night.

Secondly, there was some truth in what JBL told Orton when he said, "You walked out WWE because you were lucky." Sometimes, people see Triple Threat Matches that way, and if Cena or Triple H is set to be the next WWE Champion, it would be more powerful for them to win it in a competitive singles match.

And lastly, Orton was in a desperate need of a boon, and a win at WrestleMania provides his character very nice bragging rights. He can now say that he's technically beaten Jericho, Hardy, Cena, and Triple H. With months as WWE Champion, there is a lot more credibility around him. No matter what anyone says, he's lasted this long holding the gold, and that can't be overlooked. It's subconsciously influencing people to believe that he's more than a legitimate champion. For the past month or so, it was difficult for Orton to maintain much traction as a strong heel because he was pitted against huge babyface opponents. After that WrestleMania win (even if some might consider it lucky), his character is solidly protected.

The use of Matt Hardy and JBL in this particular episode was well done. Hardy came back for a little revenge, which may have backfired, but at least it's consistent with the injury storyline. At the same time, JBL is eyeing WWE gold. As I've mentioned on multiple occasions in the past, if WWE wants to crowd Raw with main event talent, there are some drawbacks. However, they made the right move by shifting one of those top stars into the WWE Title contender slot for a brief run.

Ideally, Orton can battle JBL briefly and ultimately add yet another name to the illustrious list of people who have fallen to him. At the same time, perhaps Triple H and Cena can argue and fight one-on-one for the next number one contender slot. It was nice to see Orton confronted with two completely new challengers that had two completely dissimilar reasons for confronting him. Impressive start.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7

Previous Feuds
Randy Orton: Dusty & Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, Cena & Triple H
JBL: Chris Jericho, Finlay

THE BIG SHOW vs. THE GREAT KHALI (1 week)

Big Show approached the ring with a giant dark red welt on his jaw. "I would like to congratulate my WrestleMania opponent Floyd Mayweather…and his manager and his one, two, three, four, five, six bodyguards, steel chair, and of course his brass knuckles. Congratulations to all of you." He reminisced about how Ric Flair told him that he was the greatest big man that he's ever faced. With a new perspective on things, Big Show announced that he's going to go back to what he does best because no one can stop him one-on-one.

Suddenly, The Great Khali's music interrupted Show's promo. Khali slowly walked to the ring to have a stare-down with Big Show. For those who haven't noticed, Khali's slightly taller. Without any physical violence breaking, Khali eventually backed down and left the ring.

This type of feud can work. Khali hasn't had a prominent role on TV in quite some time, and Big Show is portraying a lot more charisma with his current character. This feud will be a nice stepping stone for Show as he works his way up the WWE roster. It's also relevant to note that they started this feud on Raw despite the fact that they're both Smackdown talent. Perhaps WWE wanted to throw Show on television right after Mania to get this next feud rolling.

Ross and Lawler really hyped this as something truly special, but the only problem is that Khali and Show may not be the largest athletes in WWE. Surely, Mark Henry and Big Daddy V hold similarly gargantuan physiques, right? And it may not be truly special because they've used this big man versus big man formula multiple times throughout the last year. Remember the Monster Mash Battle Royal on ECW around Halloween and all the feuds that included Khali, Big Daddy V, Kane, and Mark Henry? So, now it's a matter of redefining an old strategy in order to make a new, compelling feud.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5

Previous Feuds
Big Show: Floyd Mayweather
The Great Khali: Batista, Finlay, Hornswoggle

SANTINO MARELLA vs. THE WWE DIVAS (1 week)?

It was announced that Santino Marella would be facing Maria in an Anything Goes Match. Maria later met with Santino backstage, who exaggerated the amount of squats he was doing. She told him that he's the only person that can stop the match, but he was angry about his placement on the WrestleMania card. He told her that instead of being in the Money in the Bank Match or the "Royal Battle," he was stuck with the lowest form of entertainment: the WWE Divas. So, Santino said that their match would help him release his frustration, but he implied that he would only stop the match if she had sex with him. That earned him a hard slap, and the match was on.

The match was kept pretty short, and things quickly broke down. Santino and Maria locked up, but he threw her face-first to the mat. Before anything else could happen, a group of divas from all three brands made a concerted effort to stop Marella after his sexist remarks earlier in the show. They mauled Santino before grabbing him by his appendages and hurling him into the air. Maria then head-butted Santino in the crotch before making the cover and winning by pinfall.

This may have been the week to reorganize the women's division a little bit with a break from a normal divas feud. It remains uncertain whether Santino will continue his role as an anti-divas character, which would ironically place him in a situation in which his character wants no part: divas segments. However, Ross closed the segment by suggesting that this was the end for Maria and Santino, and thus the end (perhaps) for this little storyline. It will be interesting to see how WWE handles Santino, Maria, Beth Phoenix, and Mickie James after all this non-title stuff passes.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5

Previous Feuds
Santino Marella: Umaga, Ron Simmons, Val Venis, Steve Austin, Maria


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Ric Flair's in-ring career
(2) Randy Orton vs. Triple H vs. John Cena
(3) Umaga vs. Batista
(4) Chris Jericho vs. MVP
(5) Hornswoggle & Finlay vs. Mr. McMahon & JBL
(6) Beth Phoenix & Melina vs. Maria & Ashley?


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Randy Orton vs. Matt Hardy
(2) Randy Orton vs. JBL
(3) Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly vs. Paul London & Brian Kendrick
(4) Cryme Tyme vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
(5) Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk
(6) Randy Orton vs. Matt Hardy
(7) Shawn Michaels vs. Batista


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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