By Lee Stevens, PWTorch Specialist

Thank you for joining me again as we put Raw "Under The Microscope." For new readers, this is not a full recap, but a closer look at some of the things you may have missed or a deeper look at themes, comments, or random observations. In the case of this Monday, it's sightings.

Can you spare a dime?

The sign of the night goes to the person holding up the words "Bailout Shawn." It makes sense within the storyline and bonus points for staying current. So far, the Bear Stearns Companies, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, AIG, Citigroup, GM, and Chrysler have all been a part of bailout discussions, whether it was through another corporation or from the federal government. Before you think that the idea of a wrestler getting bailout money is ridiculous, please consider that just last week Larry Flynt, the publisher of Hustler, and Joe Francis, the man behind "Girls Gone Wild," asked the government for five million dollars as a result of the poor economy's impact on their professions.

The word you're looking for is: doubtful.

Speaking of Michaels, JBL did a nice job of reinforcing HBK's work status reminding everyone that Michaels worked for him. It still makes a very interesting corporate organizational chart. Stephanie McMahon can fire Chris Jericho. JBL determines the fate of Shawn Michaels. Can we assume that McMahon can still fire JBL. Stephanie insists that it is her show, so she must approve of what's happening with these two men.

The last straw

I enjoyed the interaction between Stephanie McMahon and Chris Jericho and I was genuinely surprised with the outcome. Both sides were entertaining and it came off quite well. If this is truly her show, Stephanie can fire whomever she wants, whenever she wants, but since this is a man who once called her "a filthy, dirty, disgusting, brutal, bottom-feeding, trash-bag ho," it's shocking that simply questioning her authority did the trick. Granted, she wasn't the General Manager at the time, so perhaps calling someone a "trash-bag ho" is the type of thing that takes some time to fully appreciate. Try it at your workplace and get back to me on how long it takes to get in trouble. Thank you.

Breaking News

I enjoyed the scroll at the bottom of the screen announcing that Chris Jericho had been fired. If your recent champion and the Superstar of the Year was just canned, that certainly warrants a mention. This could be a great tool to save us from constant replays of events we just witnessed. Bonus points for actually removing his bio from the website. Clean out your desk.

Just like old times

We may have spent too much time focusing on Vince McMahon's return, but if that means classic (excuse me), vintage video, then I'm not complaining. We were able to see footage of McMahon in the blazer era, powder blue or gold, your choice, plus a rare glimpse of Lord Alfred Hayes on the set of Tuesday Night Titans. If you're new to the WWE, Hayes was an announcer in the early 1980s and because of his image as a polite, dignified Englishman, he was routinely a victim of on-air slapstick. Pie in the face? Call Alfred. Powder? Sure. Something disgusting? You bet. Sadly, Hayes passed away in 2005.

Jericho wasn't the only one on the receiving end of "you're fired." Straight from their personnel file were the "exit interviews" of Mick Foley, Eric Bischoff, and Kurt Angle. Angle was featured with and without hair during Raw, which is solid variety from a man who just appeared on a competitor's pay-per-view.

As for the other sightings in the Vince video, please raise your hand if you ever thought we would see footage of Jesse Ventura, Bret Hart, and Bischoff in the same package. The only way I thought it would happen is if there was a special edition of Raw entitled: People Who Will Not Actually Appear on Raw. That could end up being another three-hour special night.

Ventura's dispute with Vince stems from royalties on videotape sales and differing views on unions in wrestling. Hart's history with Vince is well-documented, but he did put the issues aside long enough to attend his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. Bischoff and McMahon went head-to-head in The Monday Night Wars, but did work together from 2002-2005. Although Bischoff has made a few appearances on WWE TV since then, he has come under fire from McMahon for his work with Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Wrestling.

Maybe we'll even see Bruno Sammartino. (Asst. editor's note: paging Savage, Randy.)

The word you're looking for is: doubtful

Two blocks and turn left

During the Cody Rhodes backstage segment, The Microscope detected the word Exit-Pearl Street clearly marked behind him. If you're in Sioux City and happen to be exiting a building which leads you to Pearl Street, perhaps you would want to visit the Pearl Street Research Center. The PSRC is the public research and collection storage facility for the Sioux City Public Museum, where you can research the Museum's manuscripts and collections. If you go with Cody Rhodes, tell him to put on a shirt.

The Bottom Line

It's certainly not a coincidence to see the list of recipients of the Stone Cold Stunner. His Hall-of-Fame announcement featured TNA's Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, Scott Steiner, and current UFC Heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar. Add that to the footage of Bischoff being dumped into a dump truck and you have a better appreciation for the video department. We have archived video and we're not afraid to use it.

With the Royal Rumble coming up this month, it seems fitting that Austin is the first Hall-of-Fame inductee revealed this year. He's the only man to win the Rumble three times - 1997, 1998, and 2001.

Baby, I'm a star

The Starrcade Essential Collection DVD is a long overdue celebration of one of the greatest series of wrestling events in the last 30 years. Obviously, the WWE needed to include comments from people like Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes, so it's not a surprise to see them on the promo for the three-disc set. I hope you also noticed Lex Luger, Hulk Hogan, and Jimmy Hart - people not as likely to appear on your Monday Night viewing pleasure. I was more impressed to see Sting, not just in videotape, but also on the cover of the box.

Sting has never worked for WWE despite constant rumors that he was thinking about it, negotiating a deal, talking to people, etc. He did appear on the final episode of WCW's Monday Nitro which led directly into the Vince McMahon vs. Shane McMahon purchase of WCW, but that was the closest thing to Sting on WWE TV that I can remember. This is either a case of the WWE putting aside company loyalty to accurately promote a product or the best indication yet that The Stinger could cross over after all this time. (Asst. editor's note: I was going to say "cross the line.")

By the way

If you read this entire article, it probably took you longer than the last two Intercontinental Championship matches between William Regal and C.M. Punk. It's been a very disappointing two weeks, but perhaps they have planned this angle for weeks and we will enjoy a brilliant, well-crafted payoff next week in Punk's hometown of Chicago. The WWE would never let us down and would never disappoint us.

The word you're looking for is: doubtful

Lee Stevens goes "Under The Microscope" for Raw and Smackdown. You can leave comments below or e-mail him at GLStevens.Torch@gmail.com.

[Vince McMahon photo credit Nick Menecci (c) PWTorch.com]

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