On Monday, June 16, 2008 at 11:50 PM EST WWE RAW
June 16, 2008
Salt Lake City, UT
Commentators: Jim Ross & Jerry “The King” Lawler
Reported By: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
John Cena made his way out to the ring to a pretty darn huge reaction. He’s a pretty big deal in Utah apparently. He said everyone out there knew, he loved the WWE. The truly great thing about the WWE though, was that once and a while, there were those matches and moments that transcended time like Hulk slamming Andre and HBK finally achieving his dream.. He said people weren’t just here for the money, they were here for the moment. He said in a few weeks they’d get to see one of those moments when two greats confronted each other and one would stand and say…
WWE Champion Triple H’s music hit the arena and he made his way out to the ring. He said Cena was right, people wouldn’t forget it. He said he didn’t think this was personal or anything, but he was starting to have second thoughts. He said he was here to give Cena a warning. If he kept it up, he’d smash his face in.
Cena called him out on the announce table shtick and Triple H told him Cena was so un-coordinated that it didn’t make a difference anyways. The two traded some pretty brutal verbal shots before McMahon’s music hit.
McMahon said he’d be giving away money tonight and for sure there’d be winners. But he said maybe Cena and Triple H wouldn’t be winners. Especially John Cena. Because he has Umaga right now. In a street fight.
Street Fight
John Cena v. Umaga
Umaga immediately uppercutted Cena to the ground to start things off. He sent Cena into the ropes and Cena tried a sunset flip, but no dice there. He avoided the Umaga jab before attempting a scoop slam which badly backfired on him as the Samoan came crashing down on top of him. In full control, Umaga swatted Cena to the apron and promptly dumped him to the outside.
****Commercial****
The match was totally out of control by the time we returned, as Umaga and Cena were brawling up the entrance ramp. Cena charged at Umaga but got caught in a Samoan drop on the steel. Umaga dragged Cena back to the ring like a dead animal and after pounding on his face some more, he went for a running backside to the face up against the ring post, but no one was home.
That gave Cena the opening he needed. He rammed Umaga into the apron and the guardrail before tossing the monster into the ring and looking for a microphone. He smashed Umaga’s noggin’ with the mic and ascended the top rope for a cross body, but Umaga caught him in the tilta whirl slam.
Cena was whipped to the buckles but managed to get a boot up. He charged out of the corner only to get crushed by an Umaga clothesline and he was right back where he began. Umaga went shopping at the ringside area for a steel chair. Cena intercepted the object and slammed the Samoan in the gut with it. After a snap mare and a flying leg drop, he attempted the FU only to fall forward right on his face.
Cena rolled to the outside but was pursued by the big man who flung him into the ringside steps before bringing him in the ring for a near fall. Umaga chucked half of the ring steps into the ring and something bad looks like it’s gonna happen.
Umaga got back into the ring and picked up the steps. He charged at Cena steps in hand, only for Cena to side step and pick Umaga up for a quick FU for the win.
Winner: John Cena via pin fall
After the match, Mr. McMahon gave away some money.
****Commercial****
It’s time for a bikini contest. Whose butt did Charlie Haas snorkel to get this job all of a sudden!? Melina looks pretty fantastic as doe Maryse. Is that Chinese or something? Who in the blue f__k is Alana? Layla’s always over the top and YES IT”S TIME FOR JILLIAN TO SING!!!! That doesn’t last long before Eve models for all of us before Maria struts her stuff.
We go down the line to pick the winner and btw, Jillian’s reaction to getting boo’d was awesome. Looks like Maria has won.
****Commercial****
An awesome music video putting over the HBK-Chris Jericho feud aired.
Now, we’ve got another $$ give away. Duggan’s got a tuxedo on his 2 X 4.
Jeff Hardy’s flailing all about and I’m assuming it’s actually time for some wrestling.
****Commercial****
Jeff Hardy v. Carlito
The two exchanged not-so-niceties around the ring until Carlito caught Hardy trying to get back into the ring and caught him in a swinging neck breaker. Carlito kept up the pressure bullying Hardy back into the corner. Hardy fought his way out and came off the ropes but it was all in vain, as he crashed into a Carlito drop kick.
Carlito slapped on a rear chin lock and kept it cinched in on the mat while the crowd tried to rally Hardy to his feet. Carlito connected with a back elbow for a two count before slapping on the bow and arrow.
Hardy of course, fought out and hit some kicks to the gut followed by the mule kick. Hardy went for his catapult drop kick but completely whiffed and Carlito capitalized. He went for a full nelson variant but instead ate a jaw breaker.
Carlito tried to stay on the attack but was quickly met with whisper in the wind. Hardy hit his inverted sit out suplex before he went to the ropes. He looked for the swanton but Carlito leaped to his feet and Jeff bailed on the move. Carlito tried the back stabber, but Hardy countered it into the twist of fate followed by a big swanton bomb and that’s all she wrote.
Winner: Jeff Hardy via pin fall
More money is given away by Vince.
Chris Jericho’s music hit and he came down to the ring with a mic. He said over the last week he noticed the difference in the way people are treating him. They were asking him how he could live with himself after what he did to Shawn Michaels. They showed a clip of the attack last week before panning back to Jericho.
He said it was déjà vu all over again. He said he was done being nice to the fans. What he did wasn’t his fault. It was the fans fault. He said he came back to the WWE to ‘save us’, but there wasn’t anyone left to save. You can’t save people that don’t want to save themselves he says. He said he could look at himself in the face with a clear conscious and the fans were morally corrupt. He said with fans like them, who needed enemies. Jericho said the fans did what they wanted to and now he’d have to punish Shawn for their sins.
He said the irony wasn’t that Michaels had blood on his hands, but now that the fans had blood on theirs. He said he wanted HBK to come out. The fans cheered but alas, no HBK.
Instead. Ric Flair’s music hit and he stood out on the entrance ramp.
****Commercial****
Flair was face to face with Jericho when we got back.
Flair told him to shut up. He said Michaels wasn’t here and he knew why. He said he couldn’t wrestle Jericho because he was retired. But he was here to fight him. In the parking lot.
Flair dropped an elbow drop on the jacket and took off to the back. Jericho followed.
Flair went out to the parking lot and Jericho tentatively went through the door only to stop in his tracks. Triple H emerged and told him that he had been causing enough problems around here, jumping on Michaels and now jumping on Naitch. Jericho asked him if he thought he was everyone’s knight in shining armor or something and ran him down for fighting everyone /*’s battles for them. Triple H said he didn’t want to fight anyone /*’s battles. He just wanted to fight Jericho. Jericho backed off.
****Commercial****
Ric Flair is pissed off about Triple H fighting his fights for him. Vince shows up and welcomes Flair to Raw again, but says he’s retired now and can’t just be hijacking the show. He has Flair thrown out and lets Triple H know he’s wrestling Jericho tonight.
Cryme Tyme v. Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly
Ted Dibiase Jr showed up and feigned getting in the ring, distracting JTG. That gave Hardcore Holly enough time to sneak up on JTG and roll him up for the win. No, I’m not joking.
Winners: Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly via pin fall
Vince gave away $16 and it’s official: I’m sick of the million dollar thing.
****Commercial****
Mixed Tag Team Match
Paul Burchill & Katie Lee v. Mr. Kennedy & Mickie James
I think I’m WAY more excited about this match than I should be.
Kennedy and Burchill started things off and traded big spots before Kennedy eventually beat down Burchill in the corner only to be sucker punched, allowing Burchill to assume control. He worked a rear chin lock for a while before going to an arm bar to try and wear Kennedy down.
Burchill whipped Kennedy to the ropes only to get countered with a boot. Burchill ate a face wash before Katie Lea tagged herself into the match.
Katie and Mickie went AT IT hard on the mat before Mickie gained the advantage. Mickie hit a swinging neck breaker and went to the top rope. Burchill looked as if he was going to interfere which in turn, caused Kennedy to launch himself all missile like into Burchill and the two tumbled to the floor.
Mickie propelled herself off the top rope but Katie Lea quickly sidestepped her and spiked Mickie’s head off her knee for her second pin fall victory over the women’s champion in two weeks.
Winners: Paul Burchill & Katie Lea via pin fall
Still giving’ away that money.
****Commercial****
Jesus, it’s 10:46pm and we’ve yet to have a single thing happen worth noting. And we’re still giving away money.
JR and King ran down the Night of Champions card.
John Cena stopped Triple H in the back. Just wanted to give him the same advice Triple H gave him: “Don’t get hurt”.
****Commercial****
Triple H v. Chris Jericho
We started off with Jericho getting quickly tossed to the mat. Jericho came back with some knees and a flurry of kicks to the gut. The official backed Jericho away allowing Triple H to get back to it and he turned the tables on Jericho, hitting his rights and lefts before back body dropping Jericho hard to the mat.
Jericho had an Irish whip reversed and was sent careening into the ring post. Jericho split from the ring writhing in pain.
****Commercial****
We came back to Jericho standing triumphantly in the middle of the ring after dispatching the WWE Champion to the outside of the ring. Jericho followed the game to the outside and smashed his head off the ring steps before bringing him back into the ring and choking him out on the middle rope.
Jericho went for something and Triple H shot back with a clothesline and flat-backed Jericho, leaving both men out on their feet. The two exchanged blows in the middle of the ring before Triple H caught a high knee and a clothesline in the corner. Jericho countered the face buster and went for the Walls of Jericho, but Triple H kicked him away.
Triple H hit a HUGE spine buster on Jericho before looking for a pedigree. Jericho countered out and hit his bulldog. Jericho whiffed on the lion sault attempt, and Triple H again went for a Pedigree but after a struggle, Jericho flipped the champion over his head and to the mat.
Triple H avoided some sort of aerial move and went to collect Jericho on the outside. Triple H reversed a whip attempt and slammed Jericho into the ring apron only for Lance Cade to come charging down the ramp to attack him from behind.
Winner: Triple H via DQ
Cade and Jericho began beating down Triple H before John Cena showed up. After clearing the heels out of the ring, Triple H jumped Cena allowing Jericho and Cade to get back to the business of making both men their women. Jericho and Cade are standing triumphant as we head off the air. RAW THOUGHTSShow Thoughts-- Maybe It’s just the mood I’m in but I haven’t been THIS happy to see a wrestling show end in an eternity. Tonight’s Raw was just absolutely brutal to sit through and frankly, came off feeling more like “The Gong Show” than it did a pro wrestling show.
Part of me sort of expects it. They’ve got a pay per view next week in addition to the draft which will kick off a lot of big story lines. WWE’s clearly been in time-kill mode the past few weeks but it seemed as if no one bothered to write this week’s show and they just sort of slapped stuff together and let it go. Combine that with the fact that May through June is almost ALWAYS the crappiest time of year to watch wrestling, and forces were already working against tonight’s show.
I enjoyed Cena-Umaga for what it was (a scaled down version of their past stuff), Jericho-Triple H is always fun on some level and we even got to see Ric Flair. The mixed tag was fun and the Jericho promo was sensational. Still, the show stunk and really, flow had everything to do with it.
Nothing ever seemed to get going. Once you got into something, we had to cut it short so we could hand out cash to rednecks and other social outcasts or if it moved us, mock them and give them $16 which they’ll likely use to buy half a carton of GPC’s. The Million Dollar Mania segments just destroyed the flow of this show and just brought a new level of irritant perhaps unseen on a wrestling show before.
This was clearly a show that the WWE just phoned it in on. They had a reliably great Salt Lake City crowd, knew they could poo in the middle of the ring and get a positive reaction, so they phoned it in. Next week’s the draft, so all will be better.
Overall Grade: D
Quick Results
John Cena def. Umaga
Jeff Hardy def. Carlito
Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes def. Cryme Tyme
Paul Burchill & Katie Lea def. Mr. Kennedy & Mickie James
Triple H def. Chris Jericho
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Biggest Pops
1. Triple H
2. Jeff Hardy
3. John Cena
4. Ric Flair
Most Heat
1. Chris Jericho
2. Vince McMahon
3. Paul Burchill
4. Umaga
Match of the Night: John Cena v. Umaga **3/4
Power Rankings5 Points= Title Win
4 Points= World Title defense/win
3 Points= Singles PPV Win
2 Points= Tag PPV Win
2 Points= TV Singles Win
1 Point= TV Tag Win
0 Points= Loss
WWE Champion: Triple H 13-8, 30pts.(Last Week: WWE Champion) -- Besides Million Dollar Mania, this guy was REALLY the center of attention tonight. He was in the Cena stuff, had his own match, was in the Flair skit, etc.
Intercontinental Champion: Chris Jericho 10-11-1, 21pts. (Last Week: IC Champion)-- Right now, he’s the best thing going. Easily. The performances are good to excellent every single week and the character’s evolution over the course of the year has been a lot of fun. Tonight he was the ONLY reason to tune in.
1. John Cena 13-7, 23 points. (Last Week: 1) -- Just plain flat. Good match with Umaga for sure tonight, but has just been utterly un-interesting in the build up to this Triple H mega-match.
2. Shawn Michaels 15-3-1, 20pts. (Last Week: 2) -- Not in action this week.
3. Jeff Hardy 10-7-1, 20pts. (Last Week: 4)-- Just aimlessly floating. The draft couldn’t be getting here soon enough for Jeff.
4. Ken Kennedy 10-7, 22pts. (Last Week: 3)-- The loss tosses Kennedy back a bit, but man he was a lot of fun paired up with Mickie tonight. I’ve been enjoying face-Kennedy a lot.
5. JBL 9-13, 16 points (Last Week: 5)-- Not in action tonight.
6. Umaga 7-11, 12 points (Last Week: 5) -- He’s running on fumes getting to the draft, but it’s finally here next week and hopefully with that is a new beginning for one of the most talented guys in the company.
7. Paul Burchill 4-1, 5 points (Last Week: NR)-- More good stuff from Burchill this week. A win over Kennedy and everyone /* being beyond listless, knocks him up a few feet on the rankings.
8. Santino Marella 5-5, 5 points (Last Week: 8) --Not in Action this week.
9. Hardcore Holly 8-6, 6pts. (Last Week: 10)-- Quick roll up makes you raise an eyebrow a bit. Could Holly be Dibiase’s partner?
10. Cody Rhodes 5-5, 5 points (Last Week: NR)-- Taggin’ along with Holly in the land of the boring.
OTHERS :
Carlito 9-8, 13 pts. (Last Week: 9)
Randy Orton 10-9-2, 20pts. (Last Week: INJURED)
William Regal, 3-4, 9 points (Last Week: NR)
Paul London 3-4, 3 points(Last Week: NR)
Jerry Lawler 0-1, 0 points (Last Week: NR)
Lance Cade 1-5, 2 points (Last Week: NR)
Brian Kendrick, 3-8, 3 points (Last Week: NR)
Trevor Murdoch 0-8, 0 points (Last Week: NR)
Super Crazy 0-3, 0 points (Last Week: NR)
Harry Smith 0-1, 0 points (Last Week: NR)
Jim Duggan 0-1, 0 points (Last Week: NR)
Rory 0-2, 0 points (Last Week: NR)
Charlie Haas 0-1, 0 points (Last Week: NR)
Robbie 0-2, 0 points (Last Week: NR)
Mick Foley 1-0, 1 point (Last Week: NR)
Sgt. Slaughter 0-0. 0 pts. (Last Week: NR)
Val Venis 0-1 0pts. (Last Week: NR)
Snitsky 2-5, 3 points (Last Week: NR)
JTG 2-2, 4 points (Last Week: NR)
Big Shaad 2-2, 2 point (Last Week: NR)
Ted Dibiase, Jr. 0-0, 0 Points (Last Week: NR)