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WWE Monday Night Raw
May 12, 2008
Upcoming PPV: Judgment Day (last episode before PPV)

RAW STORYLINES AND FEUDS

Welcome to the thirty-eighth 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)


WWE Champion TRIPLE H vs. RANDY ORTON (7 weeks)

In the back, Todd Grisham held an interview with Randy Orton. He asked Orton about his upcoming matches against Triple H (at Judgment Day) and John Cena (on Raw). Orton replied by talking about his accomplishments, namely his standing tall at WrestleMania and taking out Triple H last week. He touted his record of having taken out more superstars than any other wrestler in WWE. "Triple H had a lucky night at Backlash; I have had six months of dominance. It's called the Age of Orton," The Legend Killer said. He then moved on to John Cena by saying that Cena will find out what Triple H already knows: that Orton's not only the most athletic performer in WWE, but that he's also the smartest.

In the main event, John Cena went one-on-one with Randy Orton in a match that was meant to settle their issues after Orton kicked Cena in the head at Backlash, which took him out of action for the last few weeks (as the story goes). During the match, William Regal emerged on stage and introduced JBL as the new referee. Layfield, donning a referee's shirt and jeans, made his way to the ring as Orton and Cena began fighting again. When Cena hoisted Orton onto his shoulders for the FU, JBL felled Cena with a big boot. Orton landed on Cena immediately for the cover, and JBL raced through the three count in about one second, granting Orton the victory.

Then Triple H came out, which caused a big fight. Cena and JBL wound up in the crowd before the steel cage structure—the stipulation for the WWE Championship Match at Judgment Day—lowered to surround Orton and Triple H, presumably by order of Regal. Triple H hit a spinebuster on Orton before throwing him into the cage wall. Orton fell through the flimsy structure and out of the ring. Then Triple H ascended the cage to stare down Orton from above. That's the shot that closed the show.

The build for this feud has been pretty decent in the last few weeks, and WWE is delving into an interesting strategy by incorporating three acts in one. This week, they hyped not only Orton-Triple H and Cena-JBL, but also the Regal storyline in the same closing segment of the show. Orton had a strong argument and a good point in his interview with Grisham in which he stated that Triple H won once, while he successfully defended his title for months. Is his confidence justified? Well, that's up to viewers to decide. The real question will be how he acts after this Sunday's PPV. If Orton loses decisively to Triple H in a singles title matchup, it will be hard for him to continue this confident act as the guy who really deserves the title without looking foolish and out of touch.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8.5 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Randy Orton: Dusty & Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, Cena & Triple H
Triple H: King Booker, Umaga, Jeff Hardy, Orton & JBL

JOHN CENA vs. JBL (7 weeks)

As mentioned above, Cena faced Orton in a singles match in the main event. JBL was named the referee, and he helped Orton win with a cheap fast count. Things then immediately broke down in a four-way brawl.

This feud has been pretty cumbersome until this week since John Cena has been on a hiatus, leaving Raw Cena-free (and leaving JBL without much to work with). On Monday, Cena made his triumphant return, and WWE handled it very well. Notice how they planned things: Regal begins the show and starts throwing his weight around. Then Mickie James becomes the target of Regal's abuse of power. Suddenly, Cena makes his return to temper the situation and save Mickie James from being stripped of the Women's Title. Regal backs down, agreeing to not turn out the lights during matchups and stating that he will suspend anyone who interferes with Cena's main event match.

Of course, that led to Regal purposely inserting Layfield in the match in a legal position as referee, allowing him to screw Cena over. However, Cena's reintroduction after a short break from WWE was handled with great care and thought. It wasn't so good for Mr. Kennedy, who inexplicably took a backseat during Raw this week, but Cena came back with some fire. The feud between Cena and JBL may only last until this upcoming PPV simply because we've seen it before. Those two have feuded for months on Smackdown years ago with a culmination in a WrestleMania match for the WWE Title. Their latest stint could be stronger, but it's a moderately stable upper-card rivalry for the Raw brand; and it gives both Cena and JBL something to do while Orton contests his WWE Championship loss against Triple H.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [up 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
JBL: Chris Jericho, Finlay, Triple H & Orton
John Cena: Edge, Umaga, Bobby Lashley, Orton & Triple H

SHAWN MICHAELS vs. CHRIS JERICHO (7 weeks)

After multiple segments of Ross and Lawler explaining that Jericho had experienced a change of heart about Shawn Michaels's injury, Y2J made his way to the ring to extend an apology. Jericho recapped the situation with footage of the Michaels-Batista matchup at Backlash two weeks prior. Jericho said that he didn't buy Michaels's injury because of the look on HBK's face at Backlash, but last week changed things. After replaying video of last week's tag match, Jericho said that he now believes that the injury is indeed real. He then apologized directly into the camera before saying that Michaels should call off their match at Judgment Day. And that's when Michaels made an appearance of his own.

Michaels said, "For the first time in my life, I feigned an injury." He said that Jericho was right, that he actually is not injured at all. Jericho said that HBK couldn't fool him anymore with his mind games. Jericho was convinced that Michaels was actually hurt now, and when he started to press the issue, Michaels tried to reassure him with a swift Super Kick to the face. Jericho was leveled with the kick, and he lay on the mat, seemingly in a strange combination of shock and pain. HBK kneeled down next to him on one knee and ended the segment by saying, "Trust me when I tell ya: I'm not hurt."

Well, this one took a strange turn this week. Now Michaels comes out and admits that he isn't hurt, which leads Jericho to again think that he's lying. If Y2J had just accepted the statement as truthful, he probably wouldn't have been on the wrong end of that kick (again). Through Jericho's perspective, it almost makes sense to doubt Michaels. He's been limping since Backlash and lied about being hurt during Jericho's mock award ceremony. Then he competed in a tag match last week where he continued the lie, yet helped Jericho win the match with Sweet Chin Music. Plus, maybe Jericho thought that HBK didn't want to have their Judgment Day match canceled, so in trying to keep the match set, he just said that it was a lie and that he was perfectly healthy and fit to compete.

There are two problems here: first, why did HBK lie? What was the reason? Why did Michaels come out during Jericho's awards and blatantly say that he was hurt if he really wasn't? And why is he admitting the truth now? The other problem is that now Batista needs to follow up on this. After all, it was just the other week that Batista threatened Michaels if he was lying. Batista said in a promo on Smackdown that he wouldn't believe that Michaels would feign an injury and that if he were faking, there would be hell to pay. Well, now there's that angle on the story too.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 8.5 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Batista: Edge, The Great Khali, Undertaker, Umaga
Shawn Michaels: Randy Orton, Mr. Kennedy, Ric Flair
Chris Jericho: Randy Orton, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Money in the Bank

MR. KENNEDY vs. WILLIAM REGAL (3 weeks)

Mr. Kennedy came out to the stage where his microphone dropped from the ceiling. He cut a line or two about having a big mouth that wouldn't be shut by anyone. He did his trademark "Misterrr Kennedyy…..Kennedy" bit before making his way to the ring. His opponent for the night was the man whose pushes never last too long: Snitsky. The match ended when Kennedy hit his Mic Check finisher for the three count. Jim Ross briefly mentioned Kennedy's recent tiff with Raw GM and King William Regal, but nothing during the segment really drove home that particular feud this week. Kennedy went in, beat Snitsky, and left. Weird.

Is this feud still going? Just two weeks ago, Kennedy appeared and challenged Regal. Last week, he did the same thing, and he was placed in the main event against the entire ECW roster as punishment. Now, WWE does no follow up? The win over Snitsky doesn't hurt Kennedy, but the lack of Regal's presence does. With Regal dealing with other feuds like Cena-JBL and Orton-HHH, it doesn't make Kennedy look too good when he's left out. He's getting a nice reception, and the potential for this feud was very high. Let's see how this one plays out next week. Here's hoping they have some type of direct confrontation to get this thing back on track. Their pending match is highly anticipated.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 7 [down 0.5 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Mr. Kennedy: Jeff Hardy, Shawn Michaels
William Regal: n/a

WWE Women's Champion MICKIE JAMES vs. BETH PHOENIX (5 weeks)

Mickie James met backstage with John Cena at the coffee table to thank him for sticking up for her and her brother earlier in the show when Regal was throwing his weight around as GM and King. She asked him if he would be interested in going out after the show with her, her brother, and her brother's girlfriend. He feigned an overly-serious tone, but when Mickie pressed him on the subject again, he dropped the act and agreed to party with her later. The divas' match of the night featured Melina teaming with Beth Phoenix against the team of Maria and WWE Women's Champion Mickie James. During the match, The Glamazon walked out on Melina, who quickly fell to Mickie's neckbreaker. Ross and Lawler briefly questioned what had happened.

Later in the back, Melina was nursing her injuries with an ice pack when Beth Phoenix walked up to her. Melina questioned why Phoenix left her in their match, but Beth was indignant, explaining that Melina cost her the Women's Championship last week when she hit her with the boot. Melina said that it was an accident, but Beth didn't buy it. She said that Melina knows that she could beat Mickie more easily than she could beat Beth, and that's why she did it. Melina then struck Beth, who lifted her up and hurled her body into a wall of lockers multiple times before throwing her to the floor. Jillian ran to get referees who broke the two apart.

Well, there may be a split in the road here. This could transform from a Mickie-Beth feud to a Melina-Beth feud next week. Mickie James, after all, has been on a roll in recent weeks, winning two Women's Title matches since Backlash. Maybe her stint with Phoenix has played out, and perhaps it's Melina's turn to get into the mix. Plus, Mickie's interactions with Regal and particularly with John Cena this week may be indicative of a newer role for her in the coming weeks.

As for the Melina-Phoenix confrontation, it was pretty intense. The only problem lies in how WWE handles Melina's character. If they plan on turning her face, they have a lot of work ahead of them. Then again, if they leave her heel, it would be a little hard for viewers to root for her when The Glamazon is throwing her around like a ragdoll. There will be a slight underdog element there, but it likely won't move the crowd all that much. In any event, good interaction and strong work by both Melina and Phoenix this week.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Mickie James: Melina, Beth Phoenix
Beth Phoenix: Candice Michelle, Mickie James, Maria, Mickie James

SANTINO MARELLA & CARLITO vs. World Tag Team Champions HARDCORE HOLLY & CODY RHODES (6 weeks)

Roddy Piper walked to ringside where he greeted Ross and Lawler before setting up a chair to view the upcoming World Tag Team Championship Match up close. Santino and Carlito then went head-to-head with Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes for the titles. The match ended when Santino couldn't keep his focus off of Piper at ringside. Because of this distraction, Cody Rhodes was able to surprise Santino with a quick, yet impactful DDT for the decisive victory.

This could mark the end for this rivalry, but then again, maybe it's just going to continue with Roddy Piper as an addition. In any case, it's clear that Santino and Piper will be feuding in the next few weeks on Raw. As for the tag team feud, it's a decent mid-card program with a balance of good and bad points. It would be a nice suggestion to give these guys more talking time. We know that Cody and Santino are strong on the mic, and Piper's addition would make it even better. If they are relegated to just short tag team wrestling bouts, this feud turns out pretty bland.

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 5.5 [same as last week]

Previous Feuds
Santino Marella: Umaga, Ron Simmons, Val Venis, Steve Austin, Maria
Carlito: Triple H, Money in the Bank
Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes: Santino Marella & Carlito

LANCE CADE vs. TREVOR MURDOCH (5 weeks w/ 2 weeks hiatus)

Cade and Murdoch teamed together this week against Cryme Tyme. The match ended after JTG attempted a sunset flip on Murdoch, who countered by dropping into a pinning position to score the three count. After the match Cade acted overly excited about Murdoch's successful victory. He went to ringside to grab a mic before asking the audience if they wanted to hear Murdoch sing. The crowd had a mixed reaction to the question, but Cade, almost tipping his hand on the immediate turn to come, said, "Well, it really doesn't matter what you [the fans] want; it's what I want. And partner, you earned it!" Murdoch began to sing, but Cade quickly surprised him with a punch straight to the face, knocking his partner to the mat. Cade leveled Murdoch with one last punch before heading up the ramp with a silent, evil look.

Well, WWE finally pulled the trigger on Cade's heel turn. And unless they mimic their decision with Brian Kendrick a few weeks ago, this one is going to stick. The turn was surprising enough. Instead of having an obvious moment after another tag team loss for these two, WWE set the turn in what appeared to be a joyous spot. The formulaic version would have seen Cade and Murdoch lose yet again, followed by a short period of Cade feigning that it was forgivable before sending his partner to the mat. And as far as Lance Cade's character goes, he has the potential to make a great heel if given the chance, but he's going to need to define his new personality in the next few weeks. What kind of heel will he be? How dynamic will his character be? How can he separate himself from his now-former tag team partner as well as other heels on the brand?

Intrigue Level (out of 10): 6.5 [up 1 since last week]

Previous Feuds
Trevor Murdoch: n/a
Lance Cade: n/a


CONCLUDED FEUDS

(1) Mickie James & Maria & Cherry & Michelle McCool & Kelly Kelly & Ashley vs. Beth Phoenix & Melina & Victoria & Natalya & Jillian & Layla
(2) Santino Marella & Carlito vs. Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes?


POTENTIAL FEUDS

(1) Santino Marella vs. Roddy Piper
(2) Paul Burchill & Katie Lea vs. ?
(3) William Regal vs. John Cena
(4) William Regal vs. Jeff Hardy
(5) Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga
(6) Melina vs. Beth Phoenix


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 "Charlie Haas" so that I know it's not junk mail.


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