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. This is a closer look at what was heard, what was seen and anything else that comes to mind during Monday night's broadcast.

Clean up on aisle seven

I wasn't as impressed with the latest Chris Jericho legend segment, but after Ric Flair, Roddy Piper and Ricky Steamboat, we had a lofty level to reach. Jimmy Snuka fit the role and it's always entertaining to see the historic footage of Snuka on Piper's Pit. I don't think the WWE had as high of expectations for Snuka as they did for the other legends as his speaking role was limited. Either he was instructed not to speak much or he simply forgot an important piece of the puzzle. While Jericho was speaking, there was a second microphone placed directly in front of Snuka on the table, which The Superfly never attempted to use.

With Jericho providing the produce patterned after Piper's performance, it makes me wonder if Snuka twitches in certain sections of the grocery store.

Monster in the Bank

Congratulations to Kane for the start of a big week. His movie, "See No Evil" is getting additional publicity this week, he's making a special appearance on ECW, and he's earned the second spot in the Money in the Bank match. This will be his second appearance in the MITB, as he appeared in the first one at WrestleMania 21.

The more things change...

This week's WrestleMania flashback provided us with two great examples of committing to a wrestler and not necessarily a character. WM XII featured Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H, at least in body, if not in style. Steve Austin, as The Ringmaster, fought Savio Vega. Triple H, who still known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley, lost to The Ultimate Warrior in less than two minutes. Austin would later lose a strap match to Vega, forcing his manager Ted DiBiase to leave the WWF. Austin would drop the Million Dollar Belt and The Ringmaster gimmick and quickly transition to Stone Cold.

As for Helmsley, the Connecticut Blueblood went through different modifications of his look, including walking to the ring with Sable and Mr. Hughes before teaming up with Chyna. Eventually, he would drop the regal attitude and lower his level of conversation slightly by forming D-X. Although he's now known as either Triple H or The Game, his finishing move is still called The Pedigree, the only aspect of his aristocratic character of years ago.

The more they stay the same

The Game continued his pursuit of Randy Orton and the RKO posse and after a brief hesitation, Orton agreed to a match at WrestleMania. Although I enjoyed the short swerve with Orton insisting he wanted the winner of Edge vs. John Cena, I would have appreciated a mention of ECW Champion Jack Swagger. Of course I wouldn't expect Orton to choose Swagger, but if you're going to go to the trouble of listing all three brands as options for the Royal Rumble winner, let's throw the All-American American in the mix.

As for Triple H, the man knows his sledgehammers and he knows his dates. When he taunted Orton about his first title reign, he insisted that it was about a month and then he corrected himself by questioning "was it even that long?" No, it wasn't that long. Orton won the title from Chris Benoit on August 15 and then dropped the belt to Triple H at Unforgiven on September 12.

HBK

When Shawn Michaels was speaking about his toughness just before his match with Vladimir Kozlov, he referred to his performance at WrestleMania XIV in the same arena when he performed with a broken back and he thought his career was over. This was the match against Austin, better known for Mike Tyson's participation. Michaels was forced to retire after the match, although he would return as an announcer, a commissioner, and eventually a full-time wrestler. He's still not your boy toy.

I'm a cowboy. On a steel horse I ride.

Congratulations to Bill Watts, who is the latest member of the Class of 2009 for the WWE Hall of Fame. The Cowboy was featured in a video tribute which touched on his wrestling days as well as his time as a promoter and broadcaster. While the montage helped give newer viewers a perspective on Watts's credentials, it gave The Microscope a chance to see a younger Jim Neidhart, without his trademark goatee. Granted, he still had facial hair, but he was almost unrecognizable with the full beard instead of the long, pointy goatee.

Also in the ring with Neidhart was Watts and Butch Reed. Nothing too odd about that. Until you look closer and see that Neidhart was holding a box with a portable stereo in it. Granted, Reed and Neidhart were tag team partners in Mid-South before eventually feuding, but does anyone have any idea why The Anvil was holding a boombox? I mean other than the obvious "Neidhart likes his Lionel Richie casettes and he doesn't care who knows it" reason.

Hall

Watts is certainly deserving of the honor, but if you are to believe the rumblings, the WWE missed out on an appropriate announcement. The Von Erich family is rumored to be joining the class of 2009 in Texas. Monday night would have been the perfect night to announce it as it was the day Mike Von Erich was born in 1964. It probably makes little difference to a family who has already lost so much in the last 30 years.

(Asst. editor's note: Suddenly, I had a thought they're going to hold off the Von Erich announcement until the final Raw before WrestleMania, which just so happens to be in Dallas.)

And in this corner

I loved the subtle change in the ring introductions for the John Cena vs. Edge match. After they walked to the ring and both were inside the ropes, Lillian Garcia handled the formal introductions. It felt like a classic title match of years ago. If only the referee would have checked their knee pads for foreign objects, it would have been perfect.

I believe you've already met

Another WrestleMania match was set with Shawn Michaels advancing to face The Undertaker. With more than 40 years combined in the WWE, this isn't the first time the two have crossed paths.

In 1997, Michaels served as a referee for the Bret Hart vs. Undertaker match at Summerslam. Michaels attempted to hit The Hitman, but drilled The Dead Man instead. This set up the first Hell in a Cell match with Michaels defeating The Undertaker with an assist from Kane. The following year at The Royal Rumble, Michaels hurt his back in a Casket match, which was the main reason he was forced to retire the following year after WrestleMania.

Much has been made of The Undertaker's undefeated 16-0 winning streak at WrestleMania, but it's Michaels who has the name "Mr. WrestleMania." Although you can argue that he's earned the name, his WrestleMania history certainly didn't have a strong start. He lost his first two matches at WM as a member of The Rockers. Marty Jannetty and Michaels lost to The Twin Towers at WM V and The Orient Express the following year. Michaels got on the winning side at WM VII when they defeated The Barbarian & Haku.

As for his singles record on the "grandest stage of them all," he is 5-7, a very average record, especially when you compare it to The Undertaker's 16-0 mark. I'm certainly not comparing the two men's careers as they've been involved with very different opponents in very different matches.

VIII--Win over El Matador
IX--Loss to Tatanka
X--Loss to Razor Ramon
XI--Loss to Diesel
XII--Win over Bret Hart
XIV--Loss to Stone Cold Steve Austin
XIX--Win over Chris Jericho
XX--Loss to Chris Benoit in a Triple Threat match which also featured Triple H
21--Loss to Kurt Angle
22--Win over Vince McMahon
23--Loss to John Cena
24--Win over Ric Flair

Perhaps Mr. Summerslam would have been a better fit as he was undefeated in his first five singles matches at the annual summer event. He won four and fought to a draw with Rick Martel in a match where neither man could hit each other in the face. His first loss was in 2003 as part of an Elimination Chamber match. If you prefer to exclude that loss in the same way the WWE referred to Kozlov as never being pinned in a singles match, then Michaels didn't lose in a one-on-one match-up until 2005 when he was pinned by Hulk Hogan.

Despite his record, "Mr. WrestleMania" certainly has a nice ring to it. Certainly better than "Mr. Tuesday Night in Texas," "Mr. December to Dismember," or "Mr. Fully Loaded." Actually, I think his opponent in the famous Ladder Match may have that one locked down.

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

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