WWE celebrated the 25th anniversary of “Monday Night Raw” on Jan. 22. Though the show incorporated appearances of superstars from the show’s last 25 years and the throwback set at the Manhattan Center, the best part was the response from fans on Twitter. #Raw25 trended all night as fans shared their favorite moments over the last 25 years. Being a fan since the heydays of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart (I’m showing my age here), I’ve also joined the conversation. Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are my top five favorite Monday Night Raw moments of all time.
Chris Jericho’s WWE debut (1999)
Chris Jericho was heralded as one of the best wrestlers in the world, yet the officials in World Championship Wrestling kept pushing him down. In 1999, Jericho had enough and jumped ship to the WWF. After weeks of being hyped up, Jericho finally made his debut on Aug. 9, 1999, in a promo battle with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. This is one of the best debuts ever in professional wrestling history and has not been surpassed ever since.
D-Generation X mocks USA Network’s memo (1998)
D-Generation X (a play on the word degenerate) is juvenile, loud, crude and over-the-top when it comes to its use of profanity and bathroom humor. It’s so over-the-top that the executives at USA Network actually sent a memo to the WWF asking them to tone down the juvenile humor of the group. The rebels that they were, DX did a presidential press conference vignette mocking the memo. This is, in my opinion, the most hilarious promo in WWE history, and, surprisingly, the network loved it.
ECW “Invades” Raw (1997)
Extreme Championship Wrestling was an independent wrestling company based in Philadelphia that became prominent in the ‘90s because of its blood-and-guts style of wrestling. In 1997, the company was getting ready to present its very first pay-per-view event called “Barely Legal.” WWE chairman Vince McMahon had agreed to help co-promote the pay-per-view on the program. On Feb. 24, 1997, a few of the ECW wrestlers did an “invasion” of Raw and wrestled ECW-style matches on the show.
CM Punk’s “Pipebomb” (2011)
In 2011, CM Punk was fed up with the lack of promotion he was getting from WWE. His contract was expiring and he was ready to leave. On the June 27 episode of Raw, Punk was given a live microphone and air time to share his grievances. The spot became one of the most-watched segments of all time, both live and on YouTube, and it launched CM Punk’s career to a new atmosphere where he became a bonafide star in the WWE.
Eric Bischoff announced as the new general manager of Raw (2002)
Eric Bischoff was the president of WCW in the ‘90s and he went head to head on Monday night with the WWE. WWE eventually crushed WCW and Bischoff disappeared. So, when he was announced as the new GM of Raw in July of 2002, everyone’s jaw hit the floor. Never did wrestling fans think he would be on WWE television, and yet there he was.
As someone who has been a longtime fan of the show, last Monday night’s show was definitely a trip down memory lane. It was great to see all the beloved wrestlers from the past mingling with the present. Monday Night Raw has provided me and fans all over the world with a lot of memorable moments. As a new quarter begins, I am looking forward to what moments these next 25 years will bring.
_Edited by Claire Colby | ccolby@themaneater.com_