I figured viewers would have to pay for the Denver Nuggets' transgression of kicking Raw out of the Pepsi Center in Denver, but I wasn't prepared to be hit over the head with a rubber chicken for two hours.

At least Raw managed to get through a solemn Memorial Day tribute at the beginning of the show, but as soon as it was over, Mister McMahon dove right into a string of vulgarities directed at the Nuggets owner E. Stan Kroenke that lasted for the rest of the show. Chances are, E. Stan wasn't even watching. 

It was practically a given that Mister McMahon would devote some portion of the show to Nugget bashing, and after sitting through the lengthy opening segment filled with junior high humor and toupee jokes, I figured surely that would be the end of it.

But no…

During the one or two segments of the show that didn't involve basketball, basketball was still at the forefront of the commentary. There was no getting away from it.

It all led up to the main event, a 10-man tag, in which the Nuggets (represented by the dastardly heels) challenged the Lakers (represented by the pure-of-heart baby faces). Even the announcer, who may actually have been the Lakers' regular announcer, assigned basketball positions to the wrestlers when he introduced them.  Before the match even started, you knew that the good guys would win and beat the snot out of those darn Nuggets.

This show was nothing if not predictable. 

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But that's not all.

There was also the Pig on a Pole Match, or whatever that stupid Miss WrestleMania Rematch is being called. The initial pig references started several weeks ago when the swine flu was headline news.  Now that the illness seems to have run its course, the Santino/Santina/Vickie/Chavo gag continues, long after it first provoked a chuckle.  Notice I said chuckle, not belly laugh? 

Like so many other storylines that have outlived their usefulness, this dead horse (or dead pig, if you prefer) will continue to be beaten until it is run into the ground.  But in the meantime, WWE is keeping the aforementioned rubber chicken handy.

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So out of a two-plus hour live show, about an hour and a half was devoted to fulfilling Mister McMahon's petty need to stick it to E. Stan Kroenke (something which is not likely to factor into the upcoming pay-per-view), and the Miss WrestleMania Match storyline is destined for heavy sighs before all is said and done.  So, was Monday night's Raw really a good use of airtime?

I'm just asking…

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Thanks for reading and see ya next week.