Monday 22nd, 2018 marked the 25th anniversary of Monday Night RAW.

    Featuring superstars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, D-Generation X, Chris Jericho, The Dudley Boyz, John Cena, Ric Flair, Scott Hall and even The Undertaker. WWE had two Arenas for RAW 25. The Barclays Arena in Brooklyn and The Manhattan Center in Manhattan, which represented the show’s original set.

    WWE were pulling out all the stops and were going to make sure that no fan would be in for a disappointment…Unless of course you were in the Manhattan Center.

     

    The Good:

     

    A Glass Shattering Hit of Nostalgia

    Vince McMahon opened the show with his signature strut ready to receive a plaque commemorating the 25 years of Monday Night RAW. It was destiny that Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin would come face to face in the ring one more time. Stone Cold interrupted the Chairman and after a few words, with Vince describing himself as a “Senior Citizen”, put Shane McMahon forward for a potential fight. Austin acknowledged Shane and raised his arm to the crowd before delivering a Stone Cold Stunner and laying him out. Vince offered Austin a beer for old times’ sake, they drank and embraced. A few jokes, laughs and a final embrace, Austin’s music hit as Vince looked ready to leave the ring. The music came to a halt as Vince turned back to face Austin wide eyed. They approached one another and proceeded to down their drinks. Austin then tossed his, stuck his middle fingers up at Vince McMahon and delivered another stunner. Shane finally made it to his feet, Austin offered him a beer, and they drank and in typical Stone Cold fashion, delivered a second stunner to Shane.

    This was brilliant. I thought this was great because they didn’t change anything. If this was 19-20 years ago, it would have gone down exactly the same way. It showed everything we wanted to see, the tension between Austin and Vince. Austin’s character breaking the rules and doing whatever he wants to. Everybody knew what was going to happen and they loved every second of it. It was nostalgia at its finest. Breaking PG was also a nice touch.

     

    Peep Show

    Christian welcomed Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan to the show. With the crowd booing every time Jordan tried to speak. Reminding fans that Kurt Angle is his father and saying “My dad really doesn’t suck”. They were interrupted by Sheamus and Cesaro and traded insults which eventually sparked a fight. During the bout, Rollins accidentally hit Jason Jordan with a flying knee.

    I like this because, whilst it wasn’t very long, took up much time or was even that entertaining. It held purpose and direction. We are seeing the stigma and animosity between the two rivals and the miscommunication and understanding between the current Tag Team Champions. Jason Jordan must become more than what he is and turning heel will be a great platform for him to do that.

     

    The Miz Handles The Big Dog

    It was scheduled at RAW 25 that Roman Reigns would defend his Intercontinental Title against The Miz. It seemed fairly obvious the way this match would go but the execution of it remained a mystery. The Miztourage were at ringside to cause Roman Reigns problems until the referee sent both Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas to the back. The Miz delivered a Skull-Crushing Finale to Roman Reigns who managed to kick out and overpower him. Setting up for the spear whilst the Miz was recovering in the corner, Reigns charged at the Miz only for him to dodge it last second sending Roman Reigns face first into the middle rope with no protective padding. Miz hit Reigns with the Skull-Crushing Finale and picked up the victory, making him an 8 -time Intercontinental Champion. A replay had shown that The Miz had removed the padding whilst Reigns was dealing with the Miztourage.

    This win for the Miz makes sense. Reigns needed to drop the title prior to Wrestlemania 34. It feels as though the Intercontinental title is still going through the motions and doesn’t seem to hold any real presence and whilst it was nice for Reigns to hold it for a while, it was never going to be a long-term thing. This now gives Reigns freedom to go after Lesnar whilst Miz falls back into a role he has dominated for some time.

     

    WWE (Walking With Elias)

    Elias is seen backstage until he comes to a halt. Only to be met by Y2J, Chris Jericho. Wearing a NJPW shirt might I add! Fans instantly start chanting for him as Jericho drinks it in. Jericho says he wrote a song about Elias and asked if he could use his guitar. Elias says no, only for Chris to pull out a guitar of his own as he proceeds to play a song about Elias making the list. Elias walks off and makes his way to the ring.

    A guitar strum, a light in the middle of the ring, it was time to walk with Elias. After a disagreement with the crowd, threatening to leave the ring, acknowledges of Jimmy Fallon in the audience and a song about insulting former superstars. Such as Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, Undertaker, Chris Jericho, The Rock and John Cena.

    Cena, deciding he had heard enough, emerged to a barrage of “John Cena sucks!” chants. Marching down to the ring and exchanging words with Elias. Elias said the fans came to hear him and he had ruined it. Cena goaded Elias to “do something about it.” Elias went after Cena only to fall victim as vintage Cena went to work on him with the shoulder blocks, side slam and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment only for Elias to counter and then low blow the 16 time Champion. He wasn’t over, Elias then proceeded to guitar shot John Cena to the back of the head.

    I really enjoyed this. It’s pretty clear Elias is replacing Samoa Joe in terms of Cena’s “enemy” in the Royal Rumble. It wouldn’t have make much sense for Cena to come out on top. It doesn’t benefit him in any way. This can only elevate Elias. Cena will help Elias grow, both in the ring and on the mic.

     

    The Monster, The Machine and The Beast

    RAW General Manager, Kurt Angle was taking no chances knowing these three would be in the ring together. With current roster members and some Legends surrounding the ring as the three met inside. In vintage fashion, Paul Heyman introduced Brock Lesnar, claiming he is the most relevant star in RAW history. Lesnar got straight down to business instantly laying out Braun Strowman and then proceeding hit an F5 on Kane inside the ring. Strowman made his way back into the ring, Lesnar tried to set up the German Suplexes but Braun countered and sent Brock over the top rope. Strowman then sent Lesnar into the barricade and followed up with a running powerslam into the announce table.

    This was okay for what it was, although it feels like we’ve seen it too many times before. It’s good to see Strowman dominant right before the Royal Rumble. Kane didn’t really factor into any of this. The superstars at ringside held no presence either.

     

     

    The Bad:

     

    The Return of The Undertaker

    Despite claims and rumours of retirement, The Phenom was scheduled for RAW 25. This was his first post-WrestleMania 33 appearance since his loss to Roman Reigns. This was very strange to me, especially whilst his career still remains in doubt. Despite the lights not going out for his entrance, the gong hit and The Dead Man made his way down to the ring at the Manhattan Center. In his signature robe with his hood up, as the crowd passionately chanted his name. The Undertaker reminisced over the 25 years of RAW and the souls he had claimed during that time, namely Stone Cold, Mick Foley and even his own brother Kane. Undertaker then went on to say, “For all of those who have fallen, it is truly time to rest in peace”

    Whether that is a hint of retirement remains to be seen. In my opinion, we didn’t need this. Obviously it’s The Undertaker, he’s one of the biggest characters in wrestling history, certainly the most story driven character. He deserves to be here celebrating the 25 years of RAW, he’s been here since the beginning. The Undertakers supposed “send-off” at WrestleMania 33 was perfect. The problem is, nothing has been addressed since. There was no mention of his match with Roman Reigns, no plans for revenge, no update on his career status. It would have made more sense for The Undertaker to screw Roman Reigns and help the Miz gain the Intercontinental Championship, if there is indeed a future or plan for The Undertaker.

    If this is goodbye, it won’t be remembered as well as other superstars who have come and gone in the past. Time will tell if it is truly the end for The Phenom.

     

    Bray Wyatt vs Matt Hardy

    This feud is still building and is far from over but fans would prefer to forget about this match. Nothing of any interest happened, there was no development. The match felt very uninspiring and not inventive enough. For a rivalry as interesting and bizarre as this one, with the characters they are. We should be getting more than what we are currently getting. This is a feud that has real potential and should have a lot more going for it than just two men laughing at one another repeatedly.

    Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews v Heath Slater and Rhyno. (Featuring Dudley Boyz)

    Whilst we saw some decent moves, this match made little sense to me on a night like this. This was the definition of a filler match. Especially knowing how rushed previous segments had been. This went on for too long. The match ended in a no-contest after the Dudley Boyz charged in. Titus Worldwide AND Rhyno, Slater’s tag team partner, threw Heath Slater into the ring where he was decimated by the former Tag Team Champions and put through a table.

     

    The Manhattan Center

    This was woeful. I would have been trembling with anger had I paid the $500 for what looked about 30-40 minutes of “entertainment”, if you can call it that. Videos of fans chanting “This is Bull****” circulated online, as well as a picture surfacing of Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler looking as though they were asleep. From the Manhattan Center, it was simply a mess.

    It started off promising with The Undertaker as their first bit of action. I was immediately put off and confused by the lack of effort that went into his entrance. They didn’t even turn off the lights, yet later on in the evening turned them out for Bray Wyatt’s entrance. I couldn’t get my head around that.

    A while after Undertaker they were given Bray Wyatt v Matt Hardy in what was essentially a squash match. This match held very little to any acclaim. After this, the Manhattan Center was completely starved of entertainment. The fact they didn’t even put dark matches on just shows how badly WWE really dropped the ball on this one. Not even D-Generation X could save the night for them.

    Shawn Michaels and Triple H came out in the Manhattan Center and reminisced the glory days and past memories on RAW, with Triple H constantly reminding Shawn not to tell certain stories as the show was now PG. They were shortly joined by the New Age Outlaws and eventually X-Pac. Scott Hall was also introduced. The crowd chanted but you could tell, this wasn’t going to save the day. The Balor Club came out to meet the Hall of Famers as both the Balor Club and DX “too sweeted” each other.

    The Revival showed up for a match with Gallows and Anderson. Another lacklustre match which ended with the Magic Killer. It didn’t get any better for them as they were then attacked by Balor, Scott Hall and DX. I didn’t see the point in this at all. The Revival have sadly been made a scapegoat. An excuse for a pop. It would have looked better had they gone the distance with the Legends or even bested them.

     

    It’s hard to call RAW 25 a good show. It was a great nostalgia trip but equally as cringy and lacklustre. It felt like a lot of stuff and talent was wasted or the ideas they had just didn’t fit in with the show.