Raw is 25!

[PSF]

This one never went anywhere and turned out to be bloody awful, but the night that Brodus Clay debuted the Funkasaurus was fantastic. Something that I never expected and I the time I must have re-watched the thing 10 times in a row. It got old really fast, but I remember the first night fondly so I'm counting it.

[FUM]

They built it up for so long that this nasty monster was coming in. That's what made it so great when he came out like the dancing priest.

[OzExile]

1 - maybe my favourite WWE moment of all-time - Stone Cold winning the belt off Kane the night after losing it at KOTR 1998 in the First Blood match (with the lowered HIAC!) 

2 - The Rock throwing Austin into the river from the bridge...Did I imagine that? 

3 - Chris Jericho's first debut 

4 - CM Punk pipebomb 

5 - The Rock Concert (pre vs John Cena) 

 

I've never seen Shelton vs Shawn! 

[Jazzy G]

What about The Outlaws and X-Pac joining DX the night after Mania XIV?

The Kurt Angle milk bath (and Austin beer bath, obviously)

Austin in a suit with Vince after that Mania as well.

Somebody mentioned the Rock Concert, but what about the massive pop Cena got for going back to the Thugonomics gimmick and cutting the rap promo the same night?

Edge & Lita's "live sex show"

Heenan keep trying to sneak into the building and Monsoon foiling him.

[stevieg1980]

Something I always remember from watching Raw was when we first go Sky back in early 96 was Vader attacking Gorilla Monsoon after the Rumble. Pair that with Vader "breaking" Yokozuna's leg leading to him being taken out on a forklift(?) due to his size. Round that time I was able to watch Raw with my uncle as my dad just fucking hated wrestling. Still doesn't understand why I still so now. 

[BomberPat]

That attack on Monsoon was absolutely brilliant. Nobody touched Gorilla, so it felt like Vader had genuinely crossed a line - even Cornette was at in the ring freaking out that Vader had gone too far, that he couldn't control him, and he just instantly looked like this absolute monster. I think Cornette even bumps for Vader at one point, and he's his manager!

My favourite part of it all, though, is that Monsoon gets a few shots in on him when he realises what's going down, he starts throwing chops. Being so used to him as nothing but a mild-mannered babyface announcer, you forget that he's this huge guy, and he gets in just enough on Vader to look like an old fighter who's too proud not to go down swinging, but not so much that Vader looks remotely weak for taking offence from a non-wrestler, or so much that Monsoon looks unprofessional in his role as WWF President. I don't remember anyone else ever getting heat on Monsoon like that. One of the best uses of an authority figure in wrestling I've seen, and shows how much something like this can mean if done sparingly - closest comparison I can think of was Kevin Owens beating up Vince, but even then we had years of Vince bumping before that, it had just been a while.

[HarmonicGenerator]

25 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

That attack on Monsoon was absolutely brilliant. Nobody touched Gorilla, so it felt like Vader had genuinely crossed a line - even Cornette was at in the ring freaking out that Vader had gone too far, that he couldn't control him, and he just instantly looked like this absolute monster. I think Cornette even bumps for Vader at one point, and he's his manager!

My favourite part of it all, though, is that Monsoon gets a few shots in on him when he realises what's going down, he starts throwing chops. Being so used to him as nothing but a mild-mannered babyface announcer, you forget that he's this huge guy, and he gets in just enough on Vader to look like an old fighter who's too proud not to go down swinging, but not so much that Vader looks remotely weak for taking offence from a non-wrestler, or so much that Monsoon looks unprofessional in his role as WWF President. I don't remember anyone else ever getting heat on Monsoon like that. One of the best uses of an authority figure in wrestling I've seen, and shows how much something like this can mean if done sparingly - closest comparison I can think of was Kevin Owens beating up Vince, but even then we had years of Vince bumping before that, it had just been a while.

Really want to watch this segment now. I remember reading about it in the magazines (possibly the special issue they did for Raw's 10th anniversary) but I don't know if I've ever watched it in full. I'm working through the Network's 100 Greatest Raw moments and I've got to assume this would be near the top?

I think the closest you'd get these days would be if someone in NXT actually attacked or beat up William Regal. If Samoa Joe had choked him out during his "REEEEEEEEEGALLLLL!" run in 2016 it would have been shocking to see someone lay hands on him - it's been so long since we've seen Regal physically involved in anything it could be huge for whoever did it. I can still vividly remember how shocking it was to see Regal lose his temper at Pete Dunne during the UK Championship - brilliant stuff.

[BomberPat]

I know we'll almost definitely never get a William Regal match again now that his necks held together with chopsticks, but it's a testament to how great he is in that role that pretty much every time he has lost his temper, it's pretty much instantly made me want to see him fight whoever it is he's snapped at - first Kevin Owens, then Samoa Joe, then Pete Dunne. The idea of Pete Dunne vs. William Regal, with Regal seeing too much of his old villainous self in Dunne and wanting to teach him a lesson and stop him making the same mistakes he did, is wrestling gold to me. There was an NXT episode a while back, where after someone left Regal's office, they just dwelled for a few seconds on him caressing the brass knuckles he has mounted in there - and even that was enough to make me think, "fucking hell, just one more match, please". And on the flip side, there's stuff like this week's Street Profits segment where he gets the chance to do just the tiniest bit of comedy, and he leaves you wanting more with that too. I bloody love Regal.

He is absolutely the best authority figure in WWE, though - he's the only one who feels like a genuine boss (right down to little touches like him having management textbooks in his office), rather than someone playing one on TV, and his decisions always seem to make sense in and out of kayfabe. I remember being overjoyed at him telling someone they couldn't have a match next week because the show was already booked, rather the RAW trope of two blokes cutting promos at the start of the show and ending up in the main event, as if you're thirty minutes into a live show and haven't even booked your main event match yet! Then on top of all that, it's still William Regal, so it always feels like the wrestlers respect him enough to not get on his bad side, and to accept whatever decisions he makes (though he rarely falls into the heel/face authority figure cliché anyway) - and it only makes it more shocking when someone does stand up to him or try and get physical with him.

 

Anyway, the Vader/Monsoon segment is all on YouTube;

 

[zep81]

One of my earliest memories watching Raw was when 123 Kid beat Razor Ramon.

Back then it was pretty unheard of for something like that to happen and I was like whaaaaaaaaaat??!!

[Guest]

Echo the love for that Vader/Monsoon segment (and I bloody hated Vader for making Yokozuna cry). As well as Vince/Owens, I'd also give a nod to Vince/Orton - the punt heard round the world. It genuinely felt to me like the beginning of something huge, but it soon went to shit with IED and Super Shane.

[Supremo]

It’s probably one of the worst segments in the history of Raw, but that Donald Trump vs. Rosie O’Donnell skit will always stay with me. There was something so fascinating seeing Vince at ringside watching his comedy bomb so spectacularly. It was the only time there’s ever been a loud TNA chant on WWE TV, from what I remember. 

[SiWri]

I loved the Bret Hart vs Steve Austin street fight from '97. I absolutely loved Bret when I was young (still do now, really) but was now starting to think Stone Cold was the best thing ever. I had proper split loyalties during this feud and this sense of guilt that I found myself supporting Austin more than Bret. 

I love the chaos of the match and Austin attacking Bret as he's loaded in the ambulance. Awesome stuff.

Even now, when I hear one praise the other about their work, I find it sort of strange, such was the great work they did in this story, I can't quite shake the feeling that they genuinely hated each other. 

Stone Cold vs Bret Hart Street Fight

[Wrasslin]

3 hours ago, BomberPat said:

I know we'll almost definitely never get a William Regal match again now that his necks held together with chopsticks, but it's a testament to how great he is in that role that pretty much every time he has lost his temper, it's pretty much instantly made me want to see him fight whoever it is he's snapped at - first Kevin Owens, then Samoa Joe, then Pete Dunne. The idea of Pete Dunne vs. William Regal, with Regal seeing too much of his old villainous self in Dunne and wanting to teach him a lesson and stop him making the same mistakes he did, is wrestling gold to me. There was an NXT episode a while back, where after someone left Regal's office, they just dwelled for a few seconds on him caressing the brass knuckles he has mounted in there - and even that was enough to make me think, "fucking hell, just one more match, please". And on the flip side, there's stuff like this week's Street Profits segment where he gets the chance to do just the tiniest bit of comedy, and he leaves you wanting more with that too. I bloody love Regal.

He is absolutely the best authority figure in WWE, though - he's the only one who feels like a genuine boss (right down to little touches like him having management textbooks in his office), rather than someone playing one on TV, and his decisions always seem to make sense in and out of kayfabe. I remember being overjoyed at him telling someone they couldn't have a match next week because the show was already booked, rather the RAW trope of two blokes cutting promos at the start of the show and ending up in the main event, as if you're thirty minutes into a live show and haven't even booked your main event match yet! Then on top of all that, it's still William Regal, so it always feels like the wrestlers respect him enough to not get on his bad side, and to accept whatever decisions he makes (though he rarely falls into the heel/face authority figure cliché anyway) - and it only makes it more shocking when someone does stand up to him or try and get physical with him.

 

Anyway, the Vader/Monsoon segment is all on YouTube;

 

Has Vader got his singlet on backwards?

[BomberPat]

....yes. It does look that way.

[ColinBollocks]

3 hours ago, Supremo said:

It’s probably one of the worst segments in the history of Raw, but that Donald Trump vs. Rosie O’Donnell skit will always stay with me. There was something so fascinating seeing Vince at ringside watching his comedy bomb so spectacularly. It was the only time there’s ever been a loud TNA chant on WWE TV, from what I remember. 

Christ! Is there a more damning review of a WWE segment by an audience? I checked it out - oof!

The second sentence reminds me of the time Vince inducted "Stone Cold" into the WWE HOF and decided he was Rodney Dangerfield. Just joke after joke after joke dying on its arse, as Vince ambled his way through all the jokey jokes with the cadence and charm of an autistic wearing an expensive suit. Indeed, fascinating seeing Vince exposed like that.