WWE RAW

Salt Lake City, Utah
June 16, 2008
Results thanks to wwe.com

Plight of Champions

By: Aubrey Sitterson
June 16, 2008

SALT LAKE CITY – In a rare champion vs. champion encounter, WWE Champion Triple H and Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho went head-to-head on Raw in a non-title match that ended with Lance Cade’s unexpected interference. Despite the emergence of John Cena, who came to aid his Night of Champions opponent, it was Y2J’s alliance with the hostile former World Tag Team Champion that stood tall.

The Game and Y2J’s confrontation grew out of Jericho’s behavior last week, when he brutalized Shawn Michaels, smashing his head into the Jeri-Tron 6000. Jericho was initially confronted on Raw by Ric Flair in the “Nature Boy’s” return to WWE for the first time since retiring. As the Intercontinental Champion headed out to fight Flair in the parking lot, he was confronted by an angry Triple H, spoiling for a fight. While Y2J’s encounter with Flair never happened as a result of Mr. McMahon having The Dirtiest Player in the Game escorted out of the arena, the WWE Chairman set up Triple H vs. Chris Jericho for that very night.

The match came to a finish not with a Pedigree or Walls of Jericho, but with the surprise involvement of Lance Cade, who rushed in to attack Triple H while both The Game and Chris Jericho were outside the ring. As Y2J and Cade brutalized Triple H, John Cena entered the ring and dropped both of The Cerebral Assassin’s attackers, only to be assaulted by Triple H himself. While their opponents were distracted with each other, the unusual alliance of Jericho and Cade took advantage of the situation and put them both down.


Dismantling The Samoan Bulldozer

Cena barely had time to recover from his match earlier that night, a Street Fight against Umaga. The two men fought as relentlessly and brutally as that match stipulation requires, but in the end, it was John Cena who came out on top, pinning Umaga and showing The Cerebral Assassin exactly what he’ll have to compete against at Night of Champions in just two short weeks.


Getting Back on Track

Another Night of Champions match will feature World Tag Team Champions Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes defending their titles against Ted DiBiase and a partner of his choice, who has yet to be revealed. Though past weeks have seen the champions struggling in the ring, Monday night was a return to form as they defeated Cryme Tyme in a non-title match. DiBiase continued to be a regular face around the ring however, entering the arena and standing by during his future opponents’ bout.


Burchill Beatdown

The night’s second tag match was an intergender confrontation between Mr. Kennedy & WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James and the team of Paul & Katie Lea Burchill. Since defeating their friend and former GM William Regal, Mr. Kennedy has been on the Burchills’ bad side. The British siblings were victorious in this match-up, continuing their rivalry with Kennedy and making things look a little more dismal for Mickie at Night of Champions in her championship match against Katie Lea.


Carlito Crashes

Raw also saw a confrontation between former Intercontinental Champions Jeff Hardy and Carlito. Hardy has been making a tremendous showing lately on Raw, just narrowly missing out on No. 1 contender status for the WWE Championship two weeks ago, but managing to take out both Triple H and John Cena last week. He continued to give the audience what they wanted by pinning Carlito for the win.
Divas Show Off

In what was surely the hottest competition of the night, the WWE Divas participated in a Summertime Beach Bikini Blowout, including Maria, Eve, Jillian, Layla, Lena Yada, Maryse and Melina. In spite of Jillian trying to serenade the audience, it was a beautiful contest, with special host Charlie Haas announcing the winner as the lovely Maria.


Million Dollar Mania Marches On

Though WWE fans are always delighted by explosive matches and beautiful women, for the second week in a row what had them all jumping out of their seats was Mr. McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania. Over the course of the night, the WWE Chairman gave away $1 million of his own money to Raw fans viewing at home, going on to announce that even with the 2008 WWE Draft next week, there’s nothing stopping him from doing it all again. While all Superstars, Divas and even announcers will be eligible for the Draft, you are still eligible to win your share of $1 million. Make sure to sign up today, and be sure to read all about this week’s winners.

Matches

John Cena def. Umaga in a Street Fight

Jeff Hardy def. Carlito

World Tag Team Champions Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes def. Cryme Tyme

Paul & Katie Lea Burchill def. Mr. Kennedy & Mickie James

WWE Champion Triple H vs. Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho was a no contest due to outside interference