WWE RAW
Bakersfield, California
June 2, 2008
Results thanks to wwe.com
OAKLAND, Calif. – All across the nation, the only
thing on the minds of WWE fans is how to get a piece of McMahon’s Millions. For
WWE Champion Triple H and John Cena though, the number one thing on their minds
is championship gold. In just a few short weeks The Game will be defending his
title against John Cena at Night of Champions, but on Raw he squared off against
Jeff Hardy. As The King of Kings and the Legend Thriller beat the bricks off of
each other, John Cena sat at the announcer’s table. Triple H was in the process
of getting counted out when Cena pulled The Game off the apron, resulting in a
win for Jeff Hardy by count-out. The two Superstars stared one another down,
inches away from a collision, when the high-flying Hardy launched himself out of
the ring, taking down both Triple H and Cena.
John Cena’s involvement was retaliation for an earlier incident with the WWE
Champion, when Triple H was acting as guest commentator during Cena’s match with
JBL. Though that meeting was a hard-fought, brutal encounter, the Chain Gang
Commander came out on top. After winning, Cena climbed on the announcer’s table
and confronted The King of Kings. Cena’s celebration was short-lived, however,
as The Game started to walk away, only to pull his Night of Champions opponent’s
legs out from under him, dropping him to the table – a sign of The Cerebral
Assassin’s usual mental chess.
The Dark Side of Y2J
Another Raw rivalry is brewing between Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho
and Shawn Michaels. The two have been hounding one another since Y2J accused The
Showstopper of faking a knee injury at Backlash. HBK was indeed faking,
something he revealed by performing Sweet Chin Music on Jericho a few weeks
later. Frustrated that Michaels was cheered for faking an injury, while he gets
booed for doing what he thinks is the right thing, Jericho attacked HBK while he
was a guest on the Highlight Reel, smashing his head into the Jeri-Tron 6000.
Neither of these men are known for letting things go, and will likely be
battling it out on Raw – as long as neither of them gets pulled to another brand
during the WWE Draft, taking place in less than two weeks.
Melina saves the day
Night of Champions is an event made up completely of title matches, so WWE
Women’s Champion Mickie James must be growing more and more excited to defend
her coveted gold. One potential challenger is former champion Beth Phoenix, who
lost the title to James almost two months ago. These Divas competed again on
Raw, with James reliving her championship win by pinning Phoenix in a non-title
match. Discontented with her loss, The Glamazon attacked James only to be
interrupted when Melina rushed in and pummeled Phoenix.
Burchill Beatings
After two weeks of interrupted matches and retaliatory beatings, Mr. Kennedy
finally faced off against Paul Burchill in the ring. Proving yet again why he
continues to make such a splash on Raw, the Green Bay Loudmouth defeated
Burchill. After the match, however, Paul’s sister Katie Lea stepped in and
slapped Kennedy, distracting him long enough for Burchill to perform a Twisted
Sister on the outspoken Superstar, no doubt prolonging this rivalry for weeks to
come.
Trouble in tag team paradise
Raw fans also saw the unconventional team of Umaga & Snitsky as they took on
World Tag Team Champions Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes. Though neither Umaga nor
Snitsky are known for their communication skills, their sheer power and
brutality was enough to carry the two monsters to victory in a non-title match.
As Holly & Rhodes recovered from their second loss in two weeks, Raw’s newest
Superstar, Ted DiBiase appeared, warning the champions once again that at Night
of Champions, he and a partner of his choice will take their gold.
Cryme Tyme takes a win
The night’s other tag team match-up was between Cryme Tyme and Carlito & Santino
Marella. The Braggadocios Italian Superstar hoped to redeem himself after his
defeat at the hands of Jimmy Kimmel’s Cousin Sal on SmackDown. Unfortunately for
him, they were no match against Raw fans’ favorite hooligans, and Cryme Tyme
picked up the win.
Money, money – yeah, yeah!
As always, Raw was an exhilarating show, but what really had people on the edges
of their seats was, of course, McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania. The WWE Chairman
made good on his promise, giving away a full $1 million to lucky Raw fans.
Though it wasn’t all good, with Raw audiences being forced to endure a singing
competition between Trevor Murdoch and Jillian, and a Charlie Haas-Mae Young
make-out session, Mr. McMahon dubbed the night a success, and went so far as to
promise to give out another $1 million next week on Raw to fans who register to
win on WWE.com.
Matches
Mr. Kennedy def. Paul Burchill
WWE Women's Champion Mickie James def. Beth Phoenix
John Cena def. JBL
Umaga & Snitsky def. Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes
Cryme Tyme def. Carlito and Santino Marella
Jeff Hardy def. Triple H