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By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Monday Night Raw
April 21, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Backlash (last episode before PPV)

RAW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the thirty-fifth 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 specials tend to make feuds difficult to manage since so much interpromotional activity percolates within them. The King of the Ring special this week was no different. Almost every matchup in this tournament-style contest is likely a one-time event with no narrative strings attached. For example, the match between CM Punk and Matt Hardy will likely lead nowhere. There would just be too many combinations of altercations needed to lead to some type of continuation or conclusion for each of the seven matches in the King of the Ring tournament. In this sense, sifting through the matches in order to find likely rivalries would be nearly impossible. However, there will be an extensive potentials list at the conclusion of this article as well as analysis on the ongoing feuds that were advanced this week heading into Backlash.

Also included on this episode of Raw were the segments where Senator Barack Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton, and Senator John McCain spoke directly to WWE viewers using an awkward plethora of wrestling in-phrases that really diluted rather than enhanced what little remnant of meaning they were actually trying to disseminate to the public. Did the people that wrote their short speeches really think that viewers would only be interested in their message if they peppered their words with wrestling catchphrases? That seemed more distracting than anything else, and this could have been a great chance to allow some fans who haven't yet heard their platform to get a minute or so of their political opinion. The fact that all three presidential contenders decided to show up on WWE TV was terrific, but it could have been much more effective. WWE has worked hard to promote their Smackdown Your Vote campaign, and having all the presidential contenders on Raw certainly helped their cause. In that respect, WWE certainly deserves credit.


WWE Champion RANDY ORTON vs. JBL vs. TRIPLE H vs. JOHN CENA (4 weeks)

This week it was announced that the Fatal Four-Way Match for the WWE Championship at Backlash has become an Elimination Match. Also announced was the main event for the night: an 8-Man Tag Team contest pitting Randy Orton, JBL, Chavo Guerrero, and Edge against John Cena, Triple H, Kane, and The Undertaker. In a backstage promo, JBL touted his usual self-glorifying credentials: success on Wall Street, appearing on the Fox Business Network, becoming the CEO of his own company, and appearing in this week's New York Times business section. "JBL doesn't make news; JBL is news," he said.

Later in the back, Triple H cut a short promo about how talk means less than action. He said three men will fall at Backlash, leaving him WWE Champion. "It's up to you—Orton, JBL, and Cena—to prove me wrong." This trend continued with a promo by John Cena, who talked about talking. "I talk to send a message to the other three, a message not that I will be the WWE Champion; hell, that's what everybody else is saying…. What those folks need to understand is that they have to go through me to get [to the WWE Title]."

Randy Orton entered the ring prepared for the big 8-Man Tag Team main event. He cut a short promo about how he didn't want to talk about the Elimination Fatal Four-Way Match because his actions speak louder than his words. He spouted off a list of previous consecutive PPV events at which he successfully retained his WWE Title before confidently predicting his success this Sunday at Backlash. The main event ended when Kane delivered a chokeslam on Chavo, which gave Edge an opening to hit his Spear for the emphatic victory. After the match, Cena hit an FU on Edge, JBL hit a clothesline on Triple H, Orton hit an RKO on Cena, and Undertaker floored Orton and JBL with a double chokeslam. The show ended with Undertaker doing his usual pose.

The promos scattered throughout the show were effective in continuing to remind fans about the main event match at Backlash despite a loaded show featuring the presidential contenders and the King of the Ring tournament. It felt, however, as though there wasn't anymore to say about the WWE Title Match. Nobody really discussed anything new, and the main event result (Edge pinning Kane) excluded all four men in the Raw main event at Backlash. It's difficult to build a really strong feud between four people. The star power obviously exists, but it's hard to reach the amount of tension that a strong, heated one-on-one rivalry can produce. Overall, this feud has been booked well and the characters are strong. Cena and Triple H seemed especially motivated this week, but in differing ways: while Triple H seemed unflappably confident, Cena appeared level-headed and unsure, yet passionate and optimistic.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8 [up 0.5 since last week]

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

SHAWN MICHAELS vs. BATISTA vs. CHRIS JERICHO (4 weeks)

Shawn Michaels entered the ring with mic in hand to call out Batista. The Animal didn't take long to join HBK in the ring. Michaels got right to business, asking Batista if Jericho was correct when he said that Batista was jealous that Michaels was chosen by Flair for a WrestleMania matchup. Batista responded by saying that he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of admitting that because it would absolve Michaels of any blame. He went on to say that he would finish this at Backlash.

Michaels thanked him for his honesty before saying, "The man that you think you're so morally-superior to, the man that you say will take any advantage to get ahead, the man that you say will stop at absolutely nothing to win is the guy you're gonna be facing this Sunday at Backlash." They had a brief stare-down before Batista walked past Michaels, bumping him roughly with his shoulder. As Batista signaled that he has his eyes set on Michaels from the ramp, Michaels stared back with a straight face that emoted some distinct anger.

This rivalry has certainly intensified by being relegated exclusively to promos since it started about a month ago. WWE has made a strategic move by keeping them separated while the tension builds between both men. Also great was how Jericho was preoccupied with the King of the Ring tournament this week so that the focus was solely on Michaels and Batista. Both men have been great on the mic, and the story is highly psychological. Michaels thinks that jealousy underlies this problem with Batista, while Batista feels that Michaels is always looking to better himself no matter whom he may hurt on the way to the top. Each verbal exchange between them has uncovered interesting, compelling character clues. Depending on how Jericho plays his role, this match has a lot of potential given the build thus far.

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

Previous Feuds
Batista: Edge, The Great Khali, Undertaker, Umaga
Shawn Michaels: Randy Orton, Mr. Kennedy, Ric Flair
Chris Jericho: Randy Orton, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Money in the Bank

THE BIG SHOW vs. THE GREAT KHALI (4 weeks)

In one of the King of the Ring first round matchups, The Great Khali faced Finlay. The match ended when Khali smashed The Fighting Irishman's knee into the ring post, causing the colossal Khali to be disqualified. After the match, Big Show came out to his music so that he could stare down his Backlash opponent. Khali backed off, as usual. No physical confrontation took place; it was simply more of the "Show appears, Khali retreats" formula.

Overall, this week's events were nothing to note. It was a case of WWE using the King of the Ring in order to promote the Khali-Show feud for Backlash. If this week tells us anything, it's that even WWE feels they have plateaued on this one. What is there to talk about here?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [same as on Smackdown]

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

WWE Women's Champion MICKIE JAMES vs. BETH PHOENIX (2 weeks)

Maria, Cherry, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, and Ashley gathered to celebrate what they had believed to be impossible: a diva finally beating The Glamazon for the Women's Championship. They introduced Mickie James, who bounced to the ring in her usual peppy fashion. All of the babyface divas were proud, including Mickie James. But suddenly a large group of heel divas consisting of Beth Phoenix, Melina, Layla, Jillian Hall, Victoria, and Natalya came to crash the celebration. Phoenix wanted a rematch, calling Mickie's win a fluke. And when Beth continued to badmouth the babyfaces, McCool struck back with a hard slap. Of course, that was when everything completely broke down, but the babyfaces managed to hurl all the heels out of the ring to stand tall at the conclusion of the segment.

The celebration was a nice idea, but why no balloons? Overall, this group-to-group confrontation could lead to something highly entertaining. WWE has grouped the most popular babyface divas on Raw, Smackdown, and ECW and pitted them against some of the fiercest women on the roster. It's been a long time since women have battled from all three brands in big competition, and the tag team match at Backlash could be really strong. Mickie James played her part well as the woman who overcame the odds and now wants to spread a message to others that anything is possible. Michelle McCool was also good in her role, standing up as Smackdown's leading diva to smack Phoenix in the face. As usual, Cherry's reaction to the heel divas approaching the ring was also fantastic. This is a welcoming change for the women's division.

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

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

SANTINO MARELLA & CARLITO vs. World Tag Team Champions HARDCORE HOLLY & CODY RHODES (3 weeks)

This week, Hardcore Holly went head-to-head with Carlito in a match on Raw. The match ended when Carlito slithered out of an Alabama Slam before connecting with his Backstabber finisher for the three count on Holly. After the match, Santino grabbed a microphone. He referred to Cody Rhodes as Hardcore Holly's boyfriend before threatening to win the World Tag Team Titles. Before he could get much further, Cody took the mic out of his hand. He asked Santino if he ever shuts up; then he basically threatened to hit Santino in the head with the mic if he said another word. Santino, after saying that he can't threaten him like that, found a microphone crashing onto his head. The babyfaces threw the heels from the ring to close the segment.

This storyline has been in progress for months. It was postponed because of the massive WrestleMania hype. Now things are back on track with a unique heel team vying for the World Tag Team Titles. Santino is making this thing pretty entertaining, and Cody Rhodes sounded really smooth on the mic. WWE should consider granting these guys a lot more promo time since each team has a strong speaker. We have yet to see the development of an actual storyline here, but the people involved could certainly run with something if given the chance.

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

Previous Feuds
Santino Marella: Umaga, Ron Simmons, Val Venis, Steve Austin, Maria
Carlito: Triple H, Money in the Bank
Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes: Santino Marella & Carlito


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Chris Jericho vs. MVP
(2) CM Punk vs. Matt Hardy
(3) The Great Khali vs. Finlay & Hornswoggle
(4) CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho
(5) William Regal vs. Finlay & Hornswoggle
(6) Umaga vs. ?
(7) CM Punk vs. William Regal
(8) Group of heel divas vs. Group of babyface divas


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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