WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact
Picture

Monday Night Raw Review - June 2, 2008

2/11/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

John Cena and Jeff Hardy Confronted WWE Champion Triple H

It was long overdue that we had some fresh blood in the WWE Championship picture, and as rushed as Cena vs. HHH might have seemed at the time, it was the biggest money match they could do. Besides, they were destined to go their separate ways in the WWE Draft weeks later, so WWE might as well have done the marquee match while they still could. Hardy received a bit of shine here as well and it was a pleasant surprise he wasn't being pushed down the card coming off his 60 day suspension.

Mr. Kennedy def. Umaga

This was classic bait-and-switch heel work, and I was glad they didn't go to Kennedy vs. Paul Burchill so soon after the program started. It was unfortunate Umaga had to be the fall guy in this situation, and he shouldn't have lost as often and as decisively as he did, but this was still a solid match. Kennedy was gradually getting over as a babyface and this progressed the Kennedy-Burchill story nicely.

Mr. McMahon Announced the Rules of "McMahon's Million Dollar Mania"

As I noted in my previous review, "McMahon's Million Dollar Mania" had disaster written all over it. Fans had low expectations and rightfully so. It was cool some people were able to win cash, but it was such a desperate ratings ploy, and the execution was awful. Whether some fans came off as complete marks on the phone, McMahon dialed the wrong number, or McMahon tried too hard to make it all about himself, nothing about this concept was worthwhile whatsoever.

Santino Marella and Carlito def. World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly (Non-title)

This really wasn't a continuation of the feud as it was an opportunity to tell a few different stories. First of all, Roddy Piper was sitting at ringside, and his involvement actually led to his rivals Santino and Carlito picking up the non-title win. Meanwhile, the miscommunication between Holly and Rhodes led to tension being teased heading into Night of Champions with Ted DiBiase continuing to play mind games with them.

Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho def. JBL by Disqualification

Despite portraying a tweener in his feud with Shawn Michaels at the time, Jericho was still technically a face when this match happened, and he was obviously going to be the fan favorite versus JBL. Their in-ring chemistry improved over time following their feud earlier in the year, so this was a solid showing from them. Again, I didn't mind the non-finish because it allowed Jericho to further his heel turn by refusing to attack JBL with a chair and appear to be conflicted. The Intercontinental Championship was lost in all of this, though.

Beth Phoenix and Katlie Lea Burchill def. Women's Champion Mickie James and Melina

Phoenix and Melina had a fun feud going and it was nice to get James involved back in the mix to kick off her feud with Katie Lea. She was more than competent in the ring, so she was a welcome addition to the Raw women's division. They produced one of the better women's matches on Raw in recent memory and everyone played their part well. Katie Lea scoring the upset victory over the champion would later lead to her challenging for the championship at Night of Champions.

Lance Cade def. Trevor Murdoch

I would have waited to do the first one-on-one match between these two, especially after nothing was done to progress the program the week prior, but it was apparent officials wanted to move past this as quickly as possible. They had more prominent plans for Cade while this might have been Murdoch's final match in the company before being released a mere month later. That said, Cade was the right man to win here.

John Cena def. Jeff Hardy in a WWE Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

I believe this marked the first ever one-on-one in-ring encounter between these two, and they did not disappoint. Hardy more than held his own against an established main event star in Cena while Cena looked great here as well. Hardy lost nothing in defeat and may have even turned a few heads with his performance, proving he could hang at the main event level. On a funny side note, if you watch closely, you'll see a fan jump the barricade and attempt to run into the ring early on in this match. The way Cena and Hardy brushed it off was priceless.

Overall Show

Coming off the hot One Night Stand pay-per-view, this was a decent follow-up edition of Raw. They instantly set the stage for Night of Champions for the WWE Championship and Women's Championship matches, and the World Tag Team Championship match was already pretty apparent. McMahon's promo was whatever, as was Cade vs. Murdoch, but on the whole, this was an average episode with a memorable main event.
SEE ALSO: "Monday Night Raw Review - May 26, 2008"
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Interviews
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    NXT PLEs
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    Slammy Awards
    SNME
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    The World Is A Vampire
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Network Specials
    WWE PLEs
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2025 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact