By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Monday Night Raw
September 15, 2008
Upcoming PPV: No Mercy (third-to-last episode before PPV)

RAW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the fifty-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)


World Heavyweight Champion CHRIS JERICHO vs. JBL vs. BATISTA (2 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Chris Jericho and CM Punk kicked off Raw with the Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match ended when Jericho fell out of the open cage door to ringside, retaining his title.

-Later in the back, Jericho informed Adamle that the World Champion is a GM's most valuable asset and that the GM needs to take care of the champion.

-JBL quickly beat Tommy Dreamer one-on-one after delivering a Clothesline from Hell. After the match, he had a sit-down strike because he wanted to be announced as the number one contender. His waiting was met by Randy Orton, followed by Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix, followed by Batista.

-Batista threatened to beat all of them, including Beth Phoenix. Mike Adamle appeared on the big screen to tell everyone that he would make his official announcement at the end of the show.

-JBL met with Jericho in the locker room to work out some kind of alliance, but Jericho wanted no part of it, remembering their sordid past.

-At the end of the show, Chris Jericho cut a promo about how he wanted to face the winner of a JBL-Batista match at No Mercy as soon as their match was over. Adamle then set up a World Title Match: Jericho versus Shawn Michaels. HBK announced it would be a Ladder Match.

Analysis:

Now things are beginning to clear up with only three weeks left until WWE's next PPV event. The focus can now be placed back on another extension of the Jericho-Michaels feud as well as a budding JBL-Batista rivalry (which was hinted last week during a backstage segment in which Batista expressed no sympathy for JBL after Charlie Haas angered him). The big question out of all of this is what this does for CM Punk, who lost his match against Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Title, ostensibly taking him out of the championship loop. The presumable continuation for Punk will be a more direct rivalry with Randy Orton, who himself is on the outskirts of the World Title landscape on Raw at the moment.

Chris Jericho was great in his role, as usual. His plea to Mike Adamle for a lighter schedule after a week of hell was a nice touch. After all, he's been in an unsanctioned match, the Scramble, and a Steel Cage Match in the past eight days. Also good was Adamle's response: booking HBK to face Chris Jericho for a big final battle with a major title on the line in a Ladder Match. Their last fight ended with a less-than-clean ending. This Ladder Match will have many people looking forward to No Mercy because WWE took their biggest rivalry, threw the title in there, and booked an appropriate and popular match for the PPV.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8.5 [up 1.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Chris Jericho: Randy Orton, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Money in the Bank, Shawn Michaels
JBL: Chris Jericho, Finlay, Triple H & Orton, John Cena, CM Punk
Batista: Great Khali, Undertaker, MVP, Umaga, Shawn Michaels, Edge, CM Punk, John Cena

RANDY ORTON vs. World Tag Team Champions CODY RHODES & TED DiBIASE & MANU (3 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-As Randy Orton walked to the back after his confrontation with JBL, Santino, Beth, and Batista, he had a tense moment as he walked past Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, and Manu.

-Rhodes, DiBiase, and Manu later won their match against Kofi Kingston, Jerry Lawler, and "Jim Haas" when DiBiase hit his new finisher on Haas for the win.

Analysis:

WWE gave just enough information to keep viewers reminded that Orton has issues with these three second-generation superstars, but nothing was done this week to really lead anywhere.

On a side note, Haas is quickly becoming an interesting, although sometimes annoying, character. Not only is he showing some personality in this new role, but he's also lending himself to enhance a different feud each week as he's inserted into matchups as various characters. This week told us what WWE is up to because they deserted the idea to have JBL, who was angry last week over Haas, exact any revenge. So we can probably just expect Haas to continue this push in the coming weeks as completely new characters in completely new feuds. My guess for his next impersonation? Layla, where he can fight Jamie Noble one-on-one as William Regal joins Cole and Lawler on commentary.

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

Previous Feuds
Randy Orton: John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, Cena & Triple H, Triple H
Cody Rhodes: Santino Marella & Carlito, Ted DiBiase, Jr., Cryme Tyme
Ted DiBiase, Jr.: Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes, Cryme Tyme
Manu: n/a

REY MYSTERIO vs. KANE (6 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Kane cut a backstage promo over his music about how he removed his mask years ago so that he'd be accepted, but that didn't get him anywhere. He said that viewers cheer Rey Mysterio because we all hide behind masks of "self-righteousness" and happiness.

-As Kane continued, Evan Bourne stepped into the shot and said that he hopes that Mysterio wins because he's the guy who paved the way for wrestlers like Evan Bourne. Kane suddenly broke into that controlled evil laugh he has that usually dissipates into a straight, angry face.

-In Raw's main event, Kane was disqualified when he refused to back off during the referees five count for attacking Rey in the turnbuckle.

-After the matchup, Evan Bourne helped save Rey Mysterio from further punishment by Kane. The two high-flyers alternated skillful maneuvers to fell Kane and escape unharmed.

Analysis:

This feud has just begun to get off the ground. Over the past few months, WWE has slowly explained what has happened (although some of it makes little sense), but this week got to the heart of Kane's message: he wants to unmask Rey Mysterio. After their main event matchup, The Big Red Machine even attempted—and halfway succeeded—to remove Rey's mask. Expect some kind of reaction from Rey next week. The way Mysterio acts next week in particular will say a lot about this feud (e.g. how big of a threat Rey considers Kane to be).

Also, it's nice to see Evan Bourne on a big show like Raw, although perhaps WWE should have drafted him if they want him there long-term. Also interesting is that he's currently juggling two completely separate feuds: On Raw he's helping Rey Mysterio with his Kane problem and on ECW he's in the middle of a rivalry with John Morrison and The Miz (with Ricky Ortiz as a possible tag partner/ally).

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

Previous Feuds
Rey Mysterio: Chavo Guerrero, Finlay, MVP, Edge
Kane: Shelton Benjamin, Chuck Palumbo, Chavo Guerrero, Miz & Morrison, Mark Henry

Women's Champion BETH PHOENIX vs. CANDICE MICHELLE (3 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Candice Michelle defeated Jillian Hall in singles competition after hitting her Candy Wrapper finisher for the 1-2-3.

-After the match, Candice motioned for Beth to enter the ring. As Phoenix attempted to enter, Candice used a dropkick to send her to the floor. They had a stare-down before the segment closed.

Analysis:

Candice appeared pretty strong (and seriously enthusiastic/energetic) this week before, during, and after her matchup with Jillian. WWE has a strong narrative foundation for this feud since it has that real-life element to it. Candice suffered a serious injury during a match with Beth, taking her out of WWE for months, but now she's back, and she's looking for both revenge and the Women's Title. It's a good story. Candice looks naturally in-character, as if she doesn’t have to do much to be there. In many ways, her babyface character probably doesn't require her to be much different; however, it does appear as if she's gearing up for a big revenge match against a woman she truly despises. Beth did a fine job in her small role this week; keep in mind that she's also pulling double duty with her Santino segments each week.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5

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

JAMIE NOBLE vs. WILLIAM REGAL (7 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Jamie Noble quickly won a match against Paul Burchill when he applied an arm submission.

-After the matchup, Layla stepped out to the stage to say that she's sorry it took so long for her to get rid of Noble. She then introduced the man she claimed was worthy of her—William Regal.

-Regal came out and simply said, "It's not Noble that she wanted; it's nobility."

Analysis:

What happened to Paul Burchill's push? The Burchills seemed to be on a nice roll on Raw, but I guess that period is over with. As for the whole Layla storyline, I'm not sure it's working very well. It appears to be clunky, illogical, and unnatural because of how Regal, Layla, and Noble have been reacting, especially last week. If Layla really despised Noble, why didn't she simply dump him at an earlier date? Plus, why did she react so positively to Noble's win a few weeks ago if she really hated him this whole time—an implication that was made this week in her promo. Regal's line was good (and fitting considering that Jamie Noble is the noble babyface character here), but that's probably not enough to save this one. It just feels odd and cumbersome.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 4.5 [down 1.5 since last week]

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


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase vs. Cryme Tyme
(2) Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes & Manu?

POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes & Manu vs. Kofi Kingston & Jerry Lawler & Charlie Haas


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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