By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Monday Night Raw
September 1, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Unforgiven (last episode before PPV)

RAW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the fifty-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)


World Hvt. Champion CM PUNK vs. JBL vs. REY MYSTERIO vs. BATISTA vs. KANE (4 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Raw kicked off with a surprise appearance by Randy Orton, who returned to express his displeasure for Raw's collection of gold-wearing superstars, most notably CM Punk. After hearing enough, Punk arrived, and their verbal altercation could not boil into anything physical due to Orton's injury status.

-As Orton went to the back, JBL briefly chatted with Punk about how unlikely a title retention would be at Unforgiven; Kane assured everyone that Rey Mysterio would not appear at either Raw or the PPV; and Batista showed up to spear everyone.

-An intimidating Kane met with Mike Adamle in the back, requesting a reason for Adamle's announcement that Mysterio would be at Unforgiven. Adamle simply said it was a means to invite Mysterio back and that he hopes Rey will ultimately show up.

-When Todd Grisham later asked Batista what his game plan was heading into Unforgiven, The Animal succinctly responded, "Destroy everyone."

-The main event Battle Royal ended when Kane hurled Punk to ringside for the win. (Batista was the first man out.) Afterwards, Orton mockingly applauded, to which Punk responded by disrespectfully tossing water in Orton's face.

-Rey Mysterio then made a surprise appearance to attack Kane; Mysterio one-upped The Big Red Machine multiple times before using a hurricanrana to send Kane into the crowd.

Analysis:

In what would be a very busy edition of Monday Night Raw, WWE focused a lot of its attention on the primary players in the WWE Championship Scramble Match slated for Unforgiven. People like Punk, Kane, Batista, and especially Rey Mysterio had a pretty big night. Randy Orton's appearance may be a prelude of what's to come—a Punk-Orton rivalry is already intriguing.

Orton's presence at the show's opening, in a few backstage scenes, and also at ringside during the Battle Royal Match seemed almost like a way for WWE to fill a big star gap left with John Cena's latest injury. It will be interesting to see if WWE continues to use the still-injured Randy Orton in future episodes of Raw during his continued recovery in a non-wrestling role; it might be a really good idea if the writers have a strong plan for it. He may not be able to get into the ring, but he can certainly compel fans to boo and have a curious impact on those that he talks to—whether it be people he argues with like CM Punk or people he tries to encourage like Rhodes and DiBiase.

Kane is also becoming a more prominent component on Raw with his recent push. However, I'm not so sure about this storyline with Rey Mysterio. It seemed as though viewers assumed, based on Kane's own statements, that Rey would be either physically or psychologically scarred somehow. The Big Red Machine also predicted that Rey was dead a few months ago and that he wouldn't appear at Raw or at Unforgiven.

Well, everything that Kane has said seems to be completely fabricated: Rey isn't dead, he appeared on Raw and will undoubtedly show up at Unforgiven, and he doesn't have any physical scarring that we can see. Plus, he acted just fine, attacking Kane with a vengeance. He seems like the same old Rey Mysterio that he's always been, perhaps with a little bit more fire in him. Here's another weird, illogical part to this story: If Rey was in the building for the show, why didn't he come out a few minutes earlier so that he could participate in the Battle Royal?

So, I'm not sure about the Kane-Rey sub-storyline; it seems a bit flimsy with too many holes in logic. However, Batista's character might be increasingly intriguing. He's coming off a feud with John Cena where both men have been complaining that they haven't had enough shots at the WWE Title. This week he angrily speared everyone, including CM Punk. That may have been a mistake. The fact that he's chosen to disregard friendships with everyone and basically maintain a loner status has made him vulnerable. In the Battle Royal Match, he was the first guy to be tossed out. Maybe this is leading to a storyline where his worst enemy is himself. Let's see where this one goes after the Championship Scramble Match at Unforgiven.

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

Previous Feuds
CM Punk: Elijah Burke, John Morrison, Chavo Guerrero, Morrison & Miz, Batista, JBL
JBL: Chris Jericho, Finlay, Triple H & Orton, John Cena, CM Punk
Rey Mysterio: Chavo Guerrero, Finlay, MVP, Edge
Batista: Great Khali, Undertaker, MVP, Umaga, Shawn Michaels, Edge, CM Punk, John Cena
Kane: Shelton Benjamin, Chuck Palumbo, Chavo Guerrero, Miz & Morrison, Mark Henry

CHRIS JERICHO vs. SHAWN MICHAELS (23 weeks w/ 3 weeks hiatus)

Summary Quick Shots:

-In the official contract signing for their unsanctioned match at Unforgiven, Jericho and Michaels had another great exchange of heated words. While Jericho talked about Michaels being to blame for what is to happen Sunday, HBK spoke about the fitting name for the PPV because he will never forgive Jericho for the things he has done.

Analysis:

It was announced on ECW this week that Shawn Michaels injured his arm on Monday, presumably when he awkwardly fell out of the ring while lunging toward Chris Jericho. The segment this week, however, was right on par with the usual verbal exchanges they've had over the past few months. The juxtaposition of Jericho and Michaels throughout the contract signing was also great. Obviously, Michaels piercingly stared at Jericho, while Jericho didn't even look at his opponent until the segment neared its end.

HBK's glare at the man he hates was intense. And the fact that Jericho didn't look at him while talking showed both an arrogance and a cowardice about him. Good stuff. It's too bad Michaels is injured because this upcoming PPV match would likely have been the climactic finale to their extremely long-running and heated rivalry. Does this give WWE excuse to extend it even more with another absence by Michaels after Sunday?

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

Previous Feuds
Chris Jericho: Randy Orton, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Money in the Bank, Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels: Randy Orton, Mr. Kennedy, Ric Flair, Batista & Jericho

World Tag Team Champions TED DiBIASE & CODY RHODES vs. CRYME TYME (3 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Rhodes and DiBiase complained to Orton about his labeling them "worthless." Orton then slapped Cody across the face before telling the World Tag Team Champions that they need to stand up and do something about people like John Cena who beat them two-on-one and people like Cryme Tyme who steal their titles.

-As Cryme Tyme seemed set to face John Morrison and The Miz, a brawl broke out at ringside. Suddenly, Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes hit the scene, taking out Cryme Tyme and taking their titles back. Rhodes spiked JTG with a DDT onto the title gold to send a message.

Analysis:

Here was a good example of how WWE can continue to use Randy Orton's presence on the show in a smart way without requiring Orton to do any heavy lifting (i.e. actual wrestling). Theft of titles in wrestling storylines usually disappoint because there's really no point. Simply holding a title doesn't make someone the automatic champion. In this case, it showed how Cryme Tyme, living up to their name, was able to do something that got under Rhodes's and DiBiase's proverbial skin. In the sense that it, combined with Orton's rough encouragement for change, helped make Rhodes and DiBiase tougher is really the only benefit to this version of the title theft storyline.

Intrigue Level (out of 10):

Previous Feuds
Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes: Hardcore Holly
Cryme Tyme: n/a

Women's Champion BETH PHOENIX vs. MICKIE JAMES (5 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, and newly returning Candice Michelle faced Beth Phoenix, Katie Lea Burchill, and Jillian Hall in tag team competition. The match saw Candice and Beth mix it up a little before Candice managed to roll Beth into a small package for the victory.

Analysis:

It's nice to see Candice Michelle back on Raw after a long injury hiatus, but it does raise questions about the storyline regarding the Women's Title. Does this win for Candice suggest that a Candice-Beth rivalry is on the horizon? And if so, where does that leave Mickie James? My guess would be that Candice will play a larger role on the show now that she's returned and that WWE probably wants to bank on a Candice-Beth feud since it was forcefully discontinued after Candice's injury. Let's also remember that Beth is the one whom Candice fought against in the match where she broke her collarbone. That alone is worth a return-from-injury-to-seek-revenge storyline.

As for Mickie-Phoenix, it hasn't really gone anywhere in the past few weeks, and sometimes it seems like WWE is forced to constantly return to those two particular divas to carry the division. So this new stage is intriguing.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): n/a

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

JAMIE NOBLE vs. WILLIAM REGAL (5 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Jamie Noble took on William Regal as Layla skeptically sat watching at ringside. In the end, Noble rolled up Regal for the win, much to the surprise of Layla, whom he has been trying to impress for over a month.

Analysis:

It seemed as though the Noble-Regal feud died a few weeks ago after William Regal obtained a clean win over Jamie Noble while Layla was nowhere to be found. Now WWE has ostensibly reignited this feud, putting more focus on the relationship between Layla and Jamie Noble. It's a little odd though because Layla could probably find a much more successful wrestler to date if that's what she's interested in—or at least someone who doesn't have as much trouble defeating other superstars. Noble is an odd choice, but I guess you could argue that he's the one who sought Layla. And now that Layla has witnessed a big win by Noble, it will be interesting to see the progression in the storyline.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5

Previous Feuds
Jamie Noble: Hornswoggle, Vickie Guerrero, Chuck Palumbo
William Regal: Mr. Kennedy


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho
(2) John Cena vs. Batista
(3) Kofi Kingston vs. Santino Marella
(4) Beth Phoenix vs. Mickie James

POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Kofi Kingston vs. Charlie Haas
(2) Candice Michelle vs. Beth Phoenix
(3) Santino Marella vs. D-Lo Brown


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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