Monday Night Raw Results - June 2, 2008

New Challenger

With Randy Orton sidelined for a couple of months, WWE needed a new challenger for Triple H.

That brings down John Cena, and he proceeds to explain why he deserves a title shot. A moment later, and Jeff Hardy comes down to explain why he deserves one as well. It ends up with a #1 contenders match being set up for later on in the evening.

Very simple setup. Not all that creative at all. However, it is effective.

Mr Kennedy vs Umaga

Basically, this was supposed to have been between Mr Kennedy and Paul Burchill. However, to build up more suspense and more heat, managment decided to make it where Paul Burchill replaced himself with Umaga in the match.

The match itself was decent, but I liked it for other reasons.

First of all, they continued playing up the fact that Umaga was still injured from his match at One Night Stand. Far too often, WWE will have a wrestle participate in a "brutal" match on a pay per view, only to be fully recovered 24 hours later on Raw. You have to have some sort of continuity.

Secondly, I'm a huge fan of extending out the feud between Paul Burchill and Mr Kennedy. Both guys deserve a spot on a pay per view, and if the feud is hyped up enough, we can finally see that happen.

Winner: Mr Kennedy

Vince McMahon's Million Dollar Madness

A lot of fans were disappointed by the fact that there wasn't going to be $1 million given away each week. Can't blame WWE too much for this because the fans wanted to believe it so much that they decided to ignore the clues.

Vince McMahon does his best impersonation of a car salesman last night, hyping up the sweepstakes as a way to increase interest in his product.

I understand the business decision behind this thing. However, as someone that's already tuning in each and every week, I find that the idea does reek of desperation.

Santino Marella & Carlito vs Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly

Couldn't help but roll my eyes when I see these guys in a segment. To be honest, I'd much rather see Santino Marella doing a comedy segment by himself.

Teasing some tension between Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly is a nice way to play the internet audience who are waiting for the 2nd generation stable to actually begin.

Roddy Piper's involvement in this storyline has grown old.

Can't wait for the WWE Draft Lottery to come around and save Carlito from this tired storyline.

Winners: Santino Marella & Carlito

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
JBL vs Chris Jericho

WWE must have heard the fans complaining about the lack of IC title matches over the last few months.

This match wasn't anything great, but it's all the storytelling that went into it that made this match very enjoyable.

First of all, they continued JBL's storyline where he was injured during his match against John Cena. WWE is also continuing JBL's somewhat new gimmick where he's just an angry bully.

Secondly, they didn't forget about Chris Jericho's semi heel turn either.

Winner: Chris Jericho

Melina & Mickie James vs Beth Phoenix & Katie Lea Burchill

This match needed to get a couple of things across, and it did just that.

First of all, the writers continued Melina's storyline by having her being obsessed with revenge on Beth Phoenix. It affected her performance in the match, which was exactly what they were going for.

Secondly, the match served as a springboard for Katie Lea Burchill's credibilty. Having her scoring the pinfall victory over the women's champion does wonders for her credibilty. Smart move.

Winners: Katie Lea Burchill & Beth Phoenix

Trevor Murdoch vs Lance Cade

It took them long enough to remember this program. WWE killed a lot of the momentum from this thing by forgetting about it for several weeks. Match itself was just decent, but hopefully, this is going to be the start of something entertaining.

Winner: Lance Cade

#1 Contenders Match
Jeff Hardy vs John Cena

Very simple concept behind the match. Winner gets a shot at Triple H's WWE Heavyweight Championship at the Night of Champions pay per view. Plus, this was a fresh matchup.

Those two factors right there basically guaranteed a good rating for this match. The match itself was entertaining. Sure would like to see it on a pay per view soon.

One complaint, though, was that they should have played up Jeff Hardy's "injury" from last night a bit more than they did. The guy flew off of a truck onto "concrete". He shouldn't be able to compete the night after against a top level wrestler like John Cena.

Winner: John Cena

They followed up a great pay per view last night with an above average Monday Night Raw. That's a good way to keep momentum going.

Someone or something must have changed backstage because the writing this week was a lot improved. They actually paid attention to the little things this week. Usually, they ignore the details and just try to rush through a show.

Maybe the additional pressure from Vince McMahon is finally working?