By Lee Stevens, Torch specialist

Thank you for joining me as put Raw "Under The Microscope." As a reminder, this is not a complete recap of the show, instead it's a closer, and often offbeat, look at Monday's broadcast.

Be my guest

Loyal readers of "The Microscope" know that I always try to see the positive in every situation, but I went into Monday's show with very low expectations for this week's guest host. In my opinion, Freddie Prinze, Jr. reaped the benefits of sharing a name with his father and sharing a house with his wife, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Perhaps those low expectations helped, because I enjoyed his time on screen. I am amazed at how willing the celebrities have been to put themselves in the mix with the wrestlers. Shaquille O'Neal faced off against The Big Show. Jeremy Piven went airborne to attack John Cena and now Prinze mixed it up with Randy Orton. I'm not sure how smart it is (Dr. Ken, pay attention when I'm talking to you), but I appreciate the people not just going through the motions in order to promote something. Isn't that right, ZZ Top?

Ready Freddie

As Prinze walked to the ring, one sign that stood out read "What DID you do last summer?" Although it wasn't mentioned on-air, Prinze spent last summer on the writing team for Smackdown. Prinze was truthful when he said that he was a longtime fan and was shown in the crowd at WrestleMania XXIV and appeared on "The Dirt Sheet."

I can only assume he's being honest about the figurines in his closet, the Coliseum Home Videos with Mean Gene Okerlund, and the ice cream bars. As for his review that the bars "would make you vomit, how can you go wrong with Moolah and licking?

By the way, listen for a very happy Vince McMahon at the end of the short clip.



and I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for those meddling kids

After Santino Marella entertained Prinze with his audition, featuring scenes from Prinze movies "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "She's All That," our guest host celebrated the fact that there were no Scooby Doo jokes. Prinze starred with his wife in the 2002 movie, with Prinze portraying Fred, the driver of The Mystery Machine, and Gellar playing loyal sidekick Daphne.

A pair of fans in the audience earned a couple of Scooby snacks for their signs which proudly stated Velma and Daphne, with arrows pointing downward. If it truly was Velma and Daphne in the audience, then we welcome Velma Dinkley and Daphne Blake to St. Louis. Fred's last name was Jones and Shaggy was officially Norville Rogers. Of course, Shaggy was not in attendance last night due to repeated violations of the Wellness Policy.

What he was doing in the back of that machine was clearly no mystery.

What I did on my summer vacation

Santino did a solid job of recreating the villain from Prinze's movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer," who I thought always resembled an evil Gorton's Fisherman. Marella also succeeded in his timeline as he joked that the title of his movie would be "I Still Remember What You Did About 12 Summers Ago." The original "I Know..." was released in 1997, with "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" coming out the following year.

In 2006, the straight-to-video "I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer" debuted without any of the main actors from the first two movies.

Santino Speed Round

"He made a bet with a guy from "The Fast and The Furious'"---Santino referring to Paul Walker who co-starred in "She's All That" with Prinze and "The Fast and the Furious."

"Call Kiefer"--Santino begging Prinze to call Kiefer Sutherland the star of "24," which, this year, will feature Prinze as a new CTU operative.

"Call your wife, the werewolf killer."--Prinze is married to the former Sarah Michelle Gellar, who actually legally changed her name to Sarah Michelle Prinze in 2007. One of her first major roles was as the title character in the TV version of "Buffy, The Vampire Slayer."

Making a list, checking it twice

My thanks to Michael Cole who not only suggested a list, but actually started filling in spaces as he was talking about the U.S. Championship. "No fewer than a dozen WWE Hall-of-Famers have held the prestigious United States title." He listed The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ric Flair, and Harley Race to get us started.

In no particular order, we can add Terry Funk, Blackjack Mulligan (enshrined as part of The Blackjacks), Greg Valentine, Ricky Steamboat, Jimmy Snuka, Bobo Brazil, Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, Eddie Guerrero, and Bret Hart.

Here we are at Big Ben

The D-X "Greatest Hits" gave us a brief historical perspective on the team and a chance to look at some old friends. I'm sure you saw Mike Tyson and even the other members of D-X, including X-Pac, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, and Chyna. I also hope you took a closer look to see Rick Rude. The video appears to be from the time period when Rude worked without a contract with WWF, leading to one of the most awkward moments of the "Monday Night Wars." Rude appeared on a live Monday Nitro just before appearing on a pre-taped Raw on the same night. Sadly, less than two years after that rare double feature, Rude died of heart failure.

The video featured a decent share of McMahons and a wide array of Spirit Squad members, including the man now introducing himself as Dolph Ziggler on Friday nights.

Have you lost weight?

Although I wasn't a supporter of the quick turnaround with The Miz, I do want to give full credit for his updated look. One of my biggest criticisms of D-X is that they look the same and act exactly the same as they did ten years ago. I'm quite sure that many fans appreciate the familiarity of the duo and I understand the benefit of something dependable, but I saw that benefit of Chris Jericho changing his look and speaking style. Mike Knox grew a beard, Carlito added a touch of facial hair, and on Monday we saw The Miz with actual wrestling gear and his opponent, Evan Bourne, sported a new hairstyle.

Small changes can produce big results if it keeps the product fresh. Watching D-X walk to the ring with the same t-shirts and the same "cooler than the room" attitude didn't make me think "good to have them back." It made me think that Shawn Michaels is actually 44 years-old and Triple H is 40. They remind me of the guy who is way too old to still be wearing his varsity jacket. Yes, you were incredible in 1997. So was Hanson.

If you're not down with that, I got one word for ya'. Mmmmmbop.

Do the right thing, Mookie

With that criticism out of the way, I do want to salute D-X for what happened once they made it to the ring. We have seen the introduction countless times and with the exception of the New Age Outlaws part of the lyrics, it remains essentially the same. Logic would dictate that if Triple H and Michaels are entirely focused on the audience, that would be a prime time for a sneak attack. It was well done up to and including the final insult of "we're ready."

I enjoy it when the bad side of the feud comes out on top just before the pay-per-view as I feel it encourages everyone to make the purchase to see if the good guys will get their revenge. Legacy played it perfectly. I thought that the same could be said for Randy Orton in the end, until the last minute of the show. Granted, Cena didn't exact revenge against Orton, but he was still standing when the show went off the air.

Thank you, come again!

WWE and 7-11 have combined for an interesting promotion this summer. I'm not talking about the collectible cups, although if you want to drink something out of Kelly Kelly, I certainly understand. I'm referring to the introductions of the Unified Tag Team Champions just after the commercial. "At a combined weight of 711 pounds..."

That's commitment to a client.

Other companies which would provide interesting possibilities, although some more probable than others, in ascending weight.

Rue 21
Phillips 66 Gas Station
84 Lumber
XBox 360
Books-a-Million

Good luck.

Was that Macaulay Caulkin?

Yes, that was Macaulay Caulkin

(Some of these are easier than others)

I remember that I had forgotten

There was actually a Home Alone 3...and 4.

The People Have Spoken!

Thank you to everyone who voted in this week's Raw Microscope poll. After a close battle, the big winner was a closer look at The Fresh "Prinze" of Bel-Air, the hit show which aired on NBC for six seasons, starting in 1990.

Although Will Smith is one of the most dependable leading actors in Hollywood today, a decade ago, he was nearly bankrupt after free spending habits and poor tax paying habits during his time as part of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. Luckily for him, this TV show came his way.

As the show's theme song explained, Will Smith played a character named Will Smith, who went to live with his wealthy relatives in California. The Banks family is led by father Phillip, a successful lawyer and later, a judge. James Avery portrayed Phillip throughout the show's run, although his wife was played by two different women. Janet Hubert-Whitten was Vivian for the first three seasons, but left the show and was replaced by Daphne Maxwell-Reid. Hubert-Whitten accused Smith of being difficult to work with while producers of the show accused her of violating her contract.

The departure coinciding with Vivian's pregnancy, prompting a pair of continuity issues. One was addressed by a character who insisted, "You know, Mrs. Banks, ever since you had that baby, there's something different about you" and another referred to the dramatic aging of the new baby from infant to pre-schooler.

In addition to the unusually fast-growing baby Nicky, the Banks have three other children, Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley. Hilary drops out of UCLA just in time to get a nationally syndicated talk show, while Ashley enjoys success as a singer.

As for Carlton, we have our first tie-in to Monday's show, as we once dressed up for Halloween as Macaulay Caulkin's character from "Home Alone."

Thanks to Carlton, we have another link to WWE as the man who portrayed him, Alfonso Ribeiro, once dated ECW's Tiffany.

He also provides us with a fitting end to the day. Take your pick, you can't lose with either one.





Lee Stevens examines Raw and Smackdown with "Under The Microscope." He misses the comments section. 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