By Lee Stevens, PWTorch specialist

Thank you for joining me as we put Raw "Under The Microscope." This is not a complete recap of the show, but a closer look at what was said, what was done or what was seen during the broadcast.

Um...no

An early contender for sign of the night features "Bushwhackers H.O.F. 2009." Although Luke and Butch have yet to be announced as finalists for enshrinement, the idea isn't completely ridiculous if you look closer.

Team #1--NWA American Tag Team Championship (twice), WWA World Tag Team Championship, WWWF World Tag Team Championship

Team #2--APWL Tag Team Championship, AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (twice), NWA Florida Tag Team Championship, NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship, NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship, NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship, NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (three times), NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship, Stampede International Tag Team Championship (twice), SWCW World Tag Team Championship, SWCW Southwest Tag Team Championship, UWF Tag Team Championship (twice), WWWA Tag Team Championship (twice), WWC North American Tag Team Championship, WWC World Tag Team Championship (twice).

Team #1 is The Blackjacks who are already in the WWE Hall of Fame. Team #2 is The Bushwhackers. If you just look at their WWF career, they were known more for their wacky antics, including an appearance on Family Matters when they fought Uncle Carl and Urkel. Before that, they were known as The Kiwi Sheepherders and were part of some of the more brutal tag matches of that time. I'm not convinced that they should be on the short list for the Hall, but it's not as silly as it first appears.

Then again, their signature move was licking their opponents, so maybe it is a bit silly.

Double cross hall

The newest members of the Class of 2009 were announced as Terry and Dory Funk. While current fans probably know more about Terry due to his lengthy career and work with the WWE and ECW, Dory has his own credentials. He holds the second longest reign as NWA champion, keeping the belt for more than four years, second only to Lou Thesz. Terry and Dory are the only brothers to ever hold the title. He also has his finger prints on the current landscape of the WWE as he helped train Matt Hardy, Christian, Edge, and Mickie James.

The man inducting them certainly has a history with the pair. Dusty Rhodes and Terry Funk participated in one of the earliest barbed wire matches. I remember seeing this match covered in a popular magazine back in the 1970s and wondering how either of them survived.

See hawk, see hawk run

One of the most active fans of the night was the man wearing the #80 Seahawks jersey in the front row. He lunged at Edge during The Rated-R Superstars title celebration and was bringing so much attention to himself, I was briefly convinced that he was planted there for the show. His behavior is ironic considering his choice of jerseys. #80 belongs to Steve Largent, who was known for his quiet professionalism and later went on to be elected to Congress.

Bonus points for another fan wearing the #51 of current Seahawks Linebacker Lofa Tatupu, who is the son of former NFL player Mosi Tatupu. Mosi Tatupu was referenced on a classic Simpsons episode as part of their Treehouse of Horror tradition. Bart Simpson used the name to attempt to revive a recently deceased pet, but instead brings zombies to life.

Did I look too closely this time? Let's move on.

Thank you

I'll let you judge the sensibility of the explanation, but I certainly appreciated Vickie Guerrero taking a moment to explain exactly what happened at No Way Out to allow Smackdown Edge to compete in the Raw Elimination Chamber. Since Stephanie McMahon was attending to her brother Shane, Vickie was the highest ranking person there.

I still would have enjoyed hearing from Kofi Kingston at some point or had an update on him. Granted, he's not at the same level as Edge or John Cena, but if I had a shot at the title and someone jumped me just before I could compete, I think I would have a comment or two about the situation.

Timber!

For the second time in just a few weeks, WWE viewers shared in a new version of a familiar call. Just two weeks ago, Jim Ross responded to The Big Show dropping Festus with the cry of "Down goes Festus! Down goes Festus! Down goes Festus!" Edge provided his own version simply by placing Cena's name at the end.

Both are paying tribute to the classic broadcast of Howard Cosell. Cosell actually used it twice, one with Joe Frazier on the receiving end and once with him delivering the big blow. Frazier knocked down Jimmy Ellis bringing the first use of "Down goes Ellis!" and later George Foreman grilled Frazier in Jamaica producing the more famous moment of "Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!"

Just dozing off

When C.M. Punk delivers the Go 2 Sleep, it usually signals the end of the match. Although Cody Rhodes was able to survive the move, I appreciated him remembering to show the effects of the move throughout the rest of the match. Granted, his team still got the win, but he was still holding his jaw late in the match and several minutes had passed.

When opportunity knocks

The flashback to WrestleMania IX certainly brought an appropriate bookend to Edge's title win. Edge is certainly living up to his name of "The Ultimate Opportunist" with his non-traditional title wins, but he clearly isn't the first. After Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart at WM IX, Hulk Hogan stepped in for an impromptu match against the new champion and minutes later started another championship reign.

MLK and HBK

I'm certainly not making any comparison, but Shawn Michaels was borrowing from Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech when he claimed that he was "free at last" from JBL. While Michaels got points on excitement and delivery, he lost points on accuracy. He actually forgot "thank God almighty" before his final "free at last."

Although King gets credit because of the historic context of his speech, he actually borrowed it from a classic spiritual man of the same name. MLK wisely alluded to the original source before closing his message on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.

Your call, Dead Man

The Undertaker must feel pretty special today as two main event wrestlers are fighting just for the chance to face him at WrestleMania. The Microscope has covered Taker's WM winning streak, so it's perfectly understandable why someone would want to challenge that record. I hope they'll have comments from him next week, since it seems that everyone else is determining his fate without any consideration for what he wants. Dead people have feelings too.

Worst day ever

After Roddy Piper was attacked by Chris Jericho, Jerry Lawler summed up the mood of the moment by insisting that "this may be the worst thing I've ever seen anyone do on Raw." Granted, it wasn't a kind gesture from Jericho, but we have had cars explode with people in them, people kidnapped, women stalked, other women strapped to crosses and held up in an apparent sacrificial attempt, people have been bloodied, sent to the hospital and of course, there is always the classic jumper cables attached to the lower testicular region.

I certainly don't mean to correct The King, but I think he needs to at least consider a few others on the list.

Hot Rod

Piper's segment is getting positive reviews from Torch readers and with good reason. He showed a restraint not usually synonymous with "The Rowdy One." His emotion felt genuine and although it may have seemed that he was speaking too slowly, I think that comes from usually having to listen to Piper's rants at a world record pace. Add in strong references to Mr. T and Adrian Adonis and The Microscope was quite pleased.

My only concern with the way this story is progressing is that I'm not sure where they go from here. They started with Ric Flair and went directly into a focused Piper for a successful 1-2 punch, but who is next? It needs to be a legend who is also comfortable on the microphone. If Jericho wants to talk about broken down former wrestlers, I would love to see Jake Roberts get one last chance at the spotlight, even if his recent breakdowns show that it probably wouldn't be safe to give it to him. Hulk Hogan seems like a safe bet, depending on his relationship with Vince McMahon at the moment. They clashed over Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling show, but it's funny how a WrestleMania payday heals all wounds.

Unsanctioned

To me, criticizing Shane McMahon's position on the show is similar to complaining that the sun is too bright. What can you do about it? What bothered me about Monday's effort was the title of "Unsanctioned Match."

Unsanctioned is defined as "without explicit official permission," which certainly could describe the McMahon vs. Randy Orton fight. The WWE was smart to not have a referee in the ring and they did the right thing by not having any introductions. However, they could have taken it even deeper. Both men had their theme music play as the walked down the aisle and both had official Raw graphics listing their name.

The Microscope appreciates the suspension of belief, so please understand that I'm not suggesting they should take it to the extreme detail of not having announcers or prohibiting the use of the ring. Technically, the match shouldn't have been televised on WWE TV if it's unsanctioned, but I'm not suggesting that as a reasonable solution.

We spend enough time sitting through contract signings, why couldn't we have had a short waiver signing? "You can do this if you want, but if you get hurt, it's not our responsibility." You could even have a company spokesperson (Linda McMahon?) come out before the match and warn of the consequences and that they have nothing to do with anything that occurs.

While Shane's fighting style was exposed more in this feud than in years past, the WWE may have salvaged the last few weeks with the final minutes of Raw. If the visual of Orton's punt and the RKO on Stephanie can block out memories of the unstoppable force of Shane-O-Mac, they could transition into a smooth road to WrestleMania. I just hope that Triple H's face is back to normal before next Monday.



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

We suggest these recent related articles...

10/5 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Natalya vs. Paige, Owens vs. Cara, Stephanie McMahon, Sasha Banks, Xavier Woods

COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: The History of Foam Hands in Pro Wrestling

9/28 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Kane's Split Personality, Divas Revolution, Heyman & Big Show, Reigns vs. Wyatt