Raw Notes 23.08.05

- What the hell going on with Shawn Michaels? Is he a face? Is he a heel? What's with the ultra-hammy acting all of a sudden? And how the hell did Chris Masters get involved in all this? The writers must be on crack or something.

- Has Shelton Benjamin's punishment finally ended? It sure seems like it. Sure, it wasn't a patch on his classic with Michaels earlier in the year, but that was a brilliant match he had with Kurt Angle, a 3-star bout at least. Now if they could build up this into a feud and give them a match on pay-per-view, that would be something worth shelling out for.

- Matt Hardy is really selling that beating he got at SummerSlam - so much so that he jobbed out to the 'Conman'. And then Edge ran down and gave him another kicking. I don't know where they're going with this, but it better be somewhere good.

- Ric Flair returned, and gave Carlito a hiding. Well they were in Flair Country, after all.

- The Big Show took on Snitsky in a snorefest that ended with a countout. A countout! That's only a few steps away from a Dusty finish!

- I noticed the Big Show shaved a bit so he looks a lot less like me now. Thankfully.

- They showed a promo for a new tag team, Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. Lance Cade used to be known as Garrison Cade, before they sent him down to the minor leagues and repackaged him as a redneck cowboy, while Murdoch, of course, is a 'homage' to Dick Murdoch, with a shade or two of Dusty Rhodes about him, too.

- What is it with this Divas jealous-women angle, eh? This is the 21st century, isn't it? Oy vey.

- Shawn Michaels has apparently accepted the Master Lock Challenge for next week's show. I wonder how they'll work out that one...

- And here's tonight's main event: John Cena against Chris Jericho in a 'You're Fired!' match. Since we all knew that Jericho is leaving for a while to work on his music and spend time with his family, the result wasn't exactly a surprise. But really, did they have to make Jericho beg and plead for his spot at the end? That just totally cheapens his character. Hopefully when he comes back next year he won't be treated like such a chump.