By Lee Stevens, PWTorch Specialist

This is not a recap. This is not a drill. This is not your father's Oldsmobile. This is a closer look at what you might have missed if you weren't watching Raw as closely as you should have because you were flipping back and forth between Monday Night Football and Raw.

We wish him well in his future endeavors

We start our close examination even before the show begins. In the opening montage of the WWE through the years, it features several wrestlers unlikely to appear on live WWE TV, most notably Bruno Sammartino. If you look closely, you will also see Mick Foley still included. Either this is a tremendous show of goodwill towards a former employee who sacrificed greatly on behalf of the McMahon family, or someone missed it. Let the countdown to the editing begin!

Give us the belt and we will give you a shirt

C.M. Punk doesn't have the gold around his waist, but he has a new shirt across his chest. This week, he walked to the ring with a black t-shirt with a white outline of his fists wrapped in their trademark tape. This replaces his former shirt which featured an inside look of...his insides, including his ribs.

In this very ring

I realize that many viewers are jaded from years of televised title matches and some even yawn at a cage match. A televised cage match for the championship which was advertised a week in advance should be a big deal. Both Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole made it feel special and credit to the production team for building the suspense as they slowly lowered the cage. When they returned from commercial, the championship belt graphic appeared, once again selling the opening match as something just a bit more important than usual. I would like to see it taken a step further. Have a "tale of the tape" showcasing the weight, height and championship pedigree of the competitors. Show them walking through the locker room, past other wrestlers and through the curtain. This type of match should not have the same feel as the latest Jamie Noble escapade. Unless, of course, Jamie Noble is in the match, then kudos to you Mr. Noble!

GO DADDY!

At the very end of the Candice Michelle-Jillian Hall match, Michelle stood up awkwardly, holding both arms at her side. At first, I was worried that she someone reinjured herself and my initial reaction was pity for her as she has worked very hard to return to action.

Thankfully, I have the microscope. Look closer. Even if you can't read lips, you can see the interaction between Michelle and the ref as she whispers something to him, the camera pulls out to a wide shot and then he refastens her top. First, it's good to be a ref. Second, stupid ref. Slow down, son. Why are you in such a hurry? That PG rating can be changed if we need to make adjustments. Last week I commented how she could never wrestle in the outfit she was wearing. Apparently she was close to proving me correct this week. I trust that she'll keep trying.

Didn't you used to be?

If you didn't recognize the ridiculously blonde and ridiculously tan wrestler who introduced himself in the backstage area, that's probably what the WWE wants. His name is Dolph Diggler. His name was Nicky from The Spirit Squad. For new viewers, The Spirit Squad was a group of five male cheerleaders with matching outfits and spirit. Kenny Dykstra was the only one to survive the nightmare, until now.

Dolph Diggler's name was likely inspired by Dirk Diggler, a character from "Boogie Nights", portrayed by Mark Wahlberg. Later, we saw Evan Bourne, whose name was likely inspired by Jason Bourne, a character from "The Bourne Identity", portrayed by Matt Damon. Both Wahlberg and Damon starred in "The Departed". Both of them had spirit. See? It all makes sense when you just take the time to think about it.

Good ol' J.R.

Charlie Haas isn't the first to impersonate Jim Ross, but probably the nicest. Former writer Ed Ferrara imitated Ross, first on WWE television during a segment with Tiger Ali Singh. Then in 1999, Ferrara impersonated J.R. on WCW television, mocking Ross, including his struggles with Bell's Palsy. Ferrara went by the character name "Oklahoma", but it was clear who he was portraying.

Buy low, sell even lower

When Chris Jericho mocked JBL's chances of receiving the title, comparing them to the stock market, he was referring to recent troubles for two major companies. Merrill Lynch was purchased amid financial problems and Lehman Brothers have declared bankruptcy. In this spot last week, I was quoting the lyrics to "Copacabana". This is a wonderful country.

I'll be patient as long as you hurry up

Shawn Michaels was the obvious choice to face Jericho, considering Punk had just been defeated and JBL and Batista were tied up in another match at the next pay-per-view. However, I was hoping that Michaels would take more time off to build the drama in this feud. The payoff was nice after the near 30 second delay between Mike Adamle's stumbling announcement of Jericho's future and the actual entrance of Michaels, but imagine the explosion after waiting another three weeks to have Michaels return. With that being said, the image of Michaels on top of the later was an impressive way to close out the show. One last look under the microscope? Imagine how dramatic Michaels would seem and how serious this feud could be if he would finally drop the "Sexy Boy" theme song. I'm a man of God and I'm defending the honor of my wife and my family...oh and I'm not your boy toy.

Plus, I have spirit.

Lee Stevens is not a boy toy. He's just a sexy boy. Write to him at GLStevens.Torch@gmail.com.

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