By Chris Newth, PWTorch contributor

WWE Monday Night Raw
October 13, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Cyber Sunday (second-to-last episode before PPV)

RAW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the fifty-ninth 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. SHAWN MICHAELS (28 weeks w/ 3 weeks hiatus)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Chris Jericho complained to Mike Adamle backstage about his decisions. Adamle tried to make things fairer by letting Jericho choose Batista's opponent for the night, and vice-versa. Still unhappy, Jericho vowed to talk to Shane and Stephanie McMahon himself.

-Jericho entered the ring with mic in hand, directing his comments to the McMahons. He said that it would be unfair for any of the special guest referees to official his match at Cyber Sunday because they would all be biased towards him.

-Shawn Michaels interrupted Jericho to admit that he couldn't let himself be impartial during the Cyber Sunday match. He then struck Jericho with a barrage of punches.

-After retreating to the stage, Jericho announced that he has chosen HBK to be Batista's opponent for the night.

-Batista told Todd Grisham that if Michaels tries to take him out, he will beat him to the punch.

-Randy Orton advised the crowd not to vote for him because he can't risk injury prior to his return.

-Before HBK and Batista fought, Jericho announced that their match would be a Lumberjack Match. The match deteriorated when heels flooded the ring to attack both men. The ref had to call for the bell.

-In Raw's main event, Batista booked Jericho vs. CM Punk; he also announced that he would serve as the special guest referee. The match saw Batista hit Jericho with the Batista Bomb, allowing Punk to simply cover Jericho for the victory.

Analysis:

Chris Jericho made some great points about the special referee stipulation because he has had problems will all three men in the past. There is a case to be made for that. Also, it's interesting to see if WWE ever tries to sway the vote one way or the other. I assume that they would be fully prepared to accept whatever the results are; choices that wouldn't work wouldn't make it to the list. But it's interesting to see if they are goading the fans to vote a certain way. Maybe they just don't want it to be a landslide for Steve Austin over Shawn Michaels. They also gave a nice reason to vote for Randy Orton this week: he doesn't want the fans to vote for him and he may be reinjured if he's in the ring as early as this upcoming PPV.

Shane's and Stephanie's names have been evoked in the past few weeks, but they (especially Stephanie) have not really played a major role on the show. They seem like some kind of phantom figures who are always around, yet never there. That's been an intriguing element to this storyline too, and it almost makes it seem as though their presence will become more evident in the coming months. Also, the dynamic of the Lumberjack Match, until the very end, was more compelling than usual simply because all of the lumberjacks were heels and both of the match participants were babyfaces—so it was dangerous for either of them to fall out of the ring. Overall, everyone played their roles well and the story had been adequately sustained.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 10 [same since 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

REY MYSTERIO vs. KANE (10 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Rey Mysterio teamed with the ECW Champion Matt Hardy to face the team of Kane and Mark Henry. The match ended when Kane caught Rey jumping from the top rope; Kane raised his boot into Rey's chest and quickly made the cover for the win.

-After the match, Kane attempted to exact more punishment by hitting a chokeslam, but Rey countered it and used a dropkick to knock The Big Red Machine to ringside.

Analysis:

This feud is beginning to feel flat. Nothing seems to be happening. There seems to be no immediacy here like there was before No Mercy. WWE began this feud in a pretty big way. It's important to remember that it started as a re-introduction for Rey Mysterio and his formal debut on the Raw brand. The story was framed around Kane and what the Big Red Machine could have possibly done to permanently "scar" Mysterio, as Kane claimed. Then there was the whole unmasking angle to the story with the stipulation at No Mercy and the possibility that Rey Mysterio would have to show everyone what he looks like under his mask. All of those things—the big re-debut, the overly serious scarring comments, the mask stipulation—were all relevant and intriguing. But the storyline has collapsed onto itself because nothing came of it and because they are now feuding as if this was nothing more than a normal mid-card rivalry.

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

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

CM PUNK vs. TED DiBIASE (2 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

Nothing happened this week between these two guys. CM Punk fought Chris Jericho in Raw's main event (and won with Batista's help), and Ted DiBiase participated as a lumberjack in the Batista-Michaels match.

Analysis:

What an odd turn of events. Last week, WWE pushed this storyline on all of its three brands; it was featured on consecutive episodes of Smackdown, Raw, and then ECW. This week, it seemed as though it didn't exist. What happened? Hopefully WWE resumes this next week. It has a lot of potential.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [down 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
CM Punk: Elijah Burke, John Morrison, Chavo Guerrero, Morrison & Miz, Batista, JBL
Ted DiBiase: Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes, Cryme Tyme

JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. CRYME TYME (4 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Miz, Morrison, and Jillian did their best to sing something. Then Cryme Tyme and Kelly Kelly came out for their match. The match ended when JTG hit Morrison in the head with a hockey mask to allow Shad to pick up the win.

Analysis:

Nothing too memorable here. I'm still not sure how well JTG's proclivity to theft flies with many fans. Babyfaces who do things that are culturally rejected sometimes find great success (such as Eddie Guerrero's theme of lying, cheating, and stealing). Finlay also uses this tactic; he's a babyface, but he's not afraid to crack his opponent in the head with a shillelagh when the ref's not looking to score the victory. Despite doing something illegal in the wrestling ring, Finlay is cheered simply because he does it against heels.

This feud is at the point where it needs to move on to a new stage. Their problems have been established, and now we need to see real progress. One high point is that WWE is coming up with new ways to do something every week. So far they've had a video montage of their web shows, they've let them argue exhaustively on commentary, and they've let Miz and Morrison mock Cryme Tyme through rap. The variety is refreshing.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [same since last week]

Previous Feuds
John Morrison & The Miz: Yang & Moore, Dreamer & Delaney, CM Punk, Finlay & Hornswoggle
Cryme Tyme: Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes

JBL vs. CHARLIE HAAS (1 week)

Summary Quick Shots:

-JBL cut a politically-based promo (read below), but he was interrupted by (Charlie) Haas Hogan.

-JBL easily defeated Haas Hogan after hitting a Clothesline from Hell for the victory.

Analysis:

JBL is trying to use reverse psychology and his heel status in WWE to mitigate Republican losses in congress in less than three weeks. If you ever see Layfield on Fox News, he hounds Democrats relentlessly. The intent here is for him to "praise" top Democrats in the House and Senate with the hope that WWE viewers will take their hatred of his character and then vote against them in the polling station. At the least it's misleading because the bailout/rescue bill required many Republicans to vote in favor of it too. WWE should, if they are letting JBL try to manipulate the public with political rhetoric, allow some other WWE superstar to add some balance to that debate.

As for the storyline, JBL and Charlie Haas have had issues stemming from a few weeks ago when Haas imitated Layfield. This week may or may not be indicative of a future feud. With the ease JBL had beating Haas, it's probably a better idea if it didn't go further. As for Charlie, he's better off staying more current with his impersonations. Also, it's been a few months, and the copycat gimmick doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Perhaps his character's current track could use a revision.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

Previous Feuds
JBL: Chris Jericho, Finlay, Triple H & Orton, John Cena, CM Punk
Charlie Haas: n/a

JAMIE NOBLE vs. WILLIAM REGAL (11 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Summary Quick Shots:

This was yet another Raw feud that wasn't featured this week.

Analysis:

There's nothing to analyze here, but I have a feeling this one's not over just yet.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 3.5 [down 1 since last week]

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

THE GREAT KHALI (w/ Runjin Singh) vs. JOHNNY KNOXVILLE (2 weeks)

Summary Quick Shots:

-Todd Grisham interviewed Johnny Knoxville at ringside. They showed still photos that were posted on Knoxville's website that mocked Khali. Knoxville denied having made them.

-Santino Marella touted his success as Intercontinental Champion. He then called Knoxville into the ring. Knoxville ended up getting slammed by Beth Phoenix, splashed by Hornswoggle, and then attacked by Khali, who applied the Vise Grip before hitting the Khali Bomb.

Analysis:

This feud was set up last week on the premise that Knoxville, during an interview, offended Khali. During both Raw and Smackdown last week, WWE has extended Khali's character into something resembling a ladies' man. He's run the kiss cam and has even planted lip-locks on Lilian Garcia and a woman from the audience at the Smackdown event. This week Khali got some revenge on Knoxville when he finished what was a bizarre segment involving Hornswoggle, Beth Phoenix, Big Dick Johnson, and even The Boogeyman. I don't know if this was intended as a one-time event to plug Knoxville's website, but if it goes on from here, people could enjoy watching Knoxville get hurt—after all, that's how he makes his living anyway.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5

Previous Feuds
The Great Khali: Batista, Finlay, Hornswoggle, Big Show
Johnny Knoxville: n/a


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Beth Phoenix vs. Candice Michelle
(2) CM Punk vs. Ted DiBiase?
(3) William Regal vs. Jamie Noble?
(4) The Great Khali vs. Johnny Knoxville?

POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Chris Jericho vs. Mike Adamle
(2) Chris Jericho vs. Shane & Stephanie McMahon
(3) Santino Marella vs. Roddy Piper or Goldust or Honky Tonk Man
(4) Kelly Kelly vs. Jillian Hall


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 "Val Venis" so that I know it's not junk mail.

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