My Top 50 Raw Moments

[CanadianChris 0]

Of all the moments I would've picked from 1997, I don't think this would be one of them.

[slabinskia 0]

7. THE NEW CHAMP/ THE NEW DX 3/30/98

 

It was the night after wm14 and the wwf seemed to be at its highest point since the peak of the Hogan era. Vince was in the ring and was ready to present a new belt to Stone Cold. Austin promised to raise hell more than ever. Vince told austin to tone down his persona and be more of a champion that he approves of. Austin of course rejected that. Vince then gave his classic line of "We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way". Austin wanted examples of both. Vince told him the easy way would be to adapt and be a more corporate champion. The hard way as vince put it "Your going to end up doing it my way anyway so that's the hard way and we don't even want to discuss that."

 

Austin asked if he could take some time to think it over. He waited about 5 seconds and then gave Vince the stunner. Vince called the cops and austin was taken out of the building in handcuffs. That was quite a first night as champion for Stone Cold.

 

As if that wasn't good enough for raw, HHH came to the ring and cut a promo talking about how hbk let dx down at wm and that shawn "dropped the ball". He said that it was the first night of the new dx and introduced the return of X-pac. X-pac came to the ring and cut a promo on eric bischoff. They promised two new members by the end of the night.

 

In the main event, The new age outlaws took on Cactus/Funk in a cage for the tag titles. HHH and X-pac came to the ring and helped the outlaws win the match. The new DX was formed and that started the second best thing on wwf programming in 1998 next to austin/mcmahan.

[Failed Bridge 0]

Waltman also shot on Hogan during that interview about how Hogan said he could no longer "cut the mustard" amongst other things.

[slabinskia 0]

6. ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS STONE COLD STUNNERS 9/22/97

 

This had been building for weeks. Austin was paralyzed in his summerslam match with owen hart. While he was out of action we got some pretty famous stone cold moments. JR interviewed austin from his home where he took target practice with some wwf pictures. Austin was stripped of both the ic belt and the tag belt because of his injury. Owen got a restraining order put against austin. Stone Cold was in a word... bitter.

 

Owen was in the ring cutting a promo when austin attacked him. The police hit the ring to arrest austin because of the restraining order. Vince got in the ring to prevent the arrest and to calm austin down. Vince tried to explain to austin that they were worried that austin would get injured permanently if he wrestled and everyone understood his frustration.

 

Austin replied " I apreciate the fact that you and the wwf care. I also apreciate the fact that you can kiss my ass." He then gave Vince Mcmahan his first stone cold stunner. Austin was then put in handcuffs and taken out. This was one of the most famous raws of all time and really got the ball rolling on the austin/mcmahan feud. This was an easy top 10 choice.

[slabinskia 0]

I hope everyone has enjoyed my top 50 raw moments. I'd be curious to see some other peoples top 10. At this point it is tough putting one over another as these are my favorites. As you can see, 97-98 was my favorite time and its amazing looking back that wcw won the ratings this whole time. I am not sure what my next list will be but I am open to suggestions. Here is #5.

 

 

5. AMERICAN WRESTLING FANS CAN KISS MY ASS 3/24/97

 

It was the day after wrestlemania 13. One day removed from my favorite wrestling match ever and possibly the most effective double turn ever. Bret Hart came out to talk about the match. He issued an apology to everyone for his actions that last few months. Everyone got an apology except for america.

 

Bret talked about how the fans would cheer every heel act that steve austin did. At the same time, they would boo hart everytime he retaliated or complained about austins rule breaking. Hart talked about how he tried to be a role model but fans would rather cheer shawn michaels. Bret then made the comment "The american wrestling fans coast to coast can kiss my ass."

 

This brought out Shawn Michaels. Hbk talked about how the fans can cheer and boo anyone they want whether bret likes it or not. Bret attacked hbk and put on the ringpost figure four. Refferees tried to pull him off but bret wouldn't let go. Then Sid came out and Bret ran.

 

Imo, this was the best promo bret ever cut because he threw so much truth into it. He never really said anything that wasn't true. The thing was that it was the cool thing to do at the time was to cheer the heel. Bret couldn't deal with that so he would complain and that made him look like the cowardly heel as a result. Bret reformed the hart foundation the next week and we got the summer of awesome with the U.S. vs Canada feud.

[CanadianChris 0]

I wish WWE would put out a DVD specifically on this feud.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Does anyone have a copy of this, audio or video?

[Black Lushus 0]

If they made a 50 disc set of 1997, I'd buy it!

[Jericholic82 0]

40. HHH vs TAKA MICHINOKU 4/10/00

 

While this was not a great match, it was a ton of fun. HHH had tons of heat after being the first heel to retain his title at wrestlemania and the crowd wanted to see anyone beat him. It was suppose to be a squash match. However, taka had the APA in his corner for help. It turned into a close scare for the game. They had everyone in the crowd thinking taka could win the match.That is not easy to do when you consider that it was the best heel in the company going against a jobber. This remains a favorite of mine.

 

39. HBK HEELS IT UP 8/15/05

 

This was in my opinion, one of the best heel promos hbk has ever done. This episode of raw took place in Montreal. Hbk had recently turned heel for his match against hogan. Instead of going out to promote his match with hogan, he went out and called out bret hart. Harts music hit and the crowd went nuts. It was a joke on hbks part. Then harts music hit again and shawn had that oh shit look on his face. The crowd went crazy again but again hbk pulled one over on them. Then Hulk Hogans music went off. This would bring out hogan to shut hbk up. Nope, that was a joke too. He had everyone in the palm of his hand wanting to jump the guardrails. What did hbk do to quiet everyone ? He sat down in the ring until everyone calmed down. This was some awesome heel work. Shawn should have stayed a heel. He is better at it and he looked like he was enjoying himself. This was old school heel heat that you just don't see anymore.

 

38. ONE LAST RUN 5/19/03

 

Maybe it was because it was in Greenville. Maybe it was because of everyone's hatred toward HHH. On this episode of raw, Ric Flair showed that he still had something left. He was tired of playing second fiddle to HHH. Flair went out and cut an old school ric flair type of promo. He challenged HHH to a match. Since it was in Greenville that completely turned flair face for the night. Not only did it turn him face but he appeared to be the #1 face in the wwe that night and they might have been able to promote a ppv match between the two if they wanted. Of course flair did not win the match but they made everyone believe that he could win and had people wanting a rematch. This was one of flairs last good performances and for that reason I rank this in the top 50.

 

37. RIC FLAIR vs MR. PERFECT 1/25/93

 

This was a loser leaves the wwf match. Flair had a good one year run with the wwf but both sides wanted to move on. Perfect turned face two months earlier. The match was a good one but not a great one. That is not the reason why this is ranked. This was one of the first episodes of raw. It provided what the wwf had been lacking on its weekly shows for a long time. A big time match with something on the line. Most matches on superstars were squash matches and primetime wrestling usually features leftover arena matches. I thought this was an important match to show fans that raw would feature important matches every week and that they would be must see shows.

 

36. 10 MAN TAG 2/7/00

 

The heat for this match was off the charts. The players in this one were: The Rock,Cactus Jack,Rikishi,Too Cool vs HHH,X-Pac, Chris Benoit,Dean Malenko,Perry Saturn. That is putting several feuds together for one match. This was two weeks after the royal rumble streetfight, a match that I still think is one of the 10 best matches the wwf has had and one week after the debut of the radicals. A pretty good match but this was a huge main event to have on free tv and it delivered.

actually flair didnt challenge HHH, the co-gm Steve Austin booked a mtch between the two just to piss off HHH, but unfortunately for HHH Shawn micheals convinced flair to take the match

[Jericholic82 0]

but a good list, though I would have added The Savage/Crush summitt, Backlund goes nuts and put the chickenwing on wwf magazine editor, the reunion of shawn and diesel (happened weeks after sid "injured" shawn), dx imitates the corporation, rock's funeral for austin ("Dearly Trailer Park Trash.......) prior to backlash 99, Rock finally turns face the night after Backlash 99.

 

The Lita-Kane wedding you could add, if only cuz I was there live and that thing and the opening diva search segment with the rock (in his last wwe appearance to date) took up so much time there were only two matched on raw (and five in toal counting heat, though heat had a good Benoit-Tomko match, yes Benoit was working heat a week aftre main eventing summerslam)

[bob_barron 0]

Triple H picked Flair- Austin said he had to face a former world champion and HHH picked Flair, thinking Flair would lay down for him.

[slabinskia 0]

4. AUSTIN/MCMAHAN 4/13/98

 

This had been building for a long time. Stone Cold came out to open the show. He wanted to talk to Vince face to face in the ring. Vince reluctantly came to the ring. Austin asked vince who he was going to be going against at the next ppv and vince said he hadn't made up his mind yet. Austin then ran down all of the things vince didn't like about him being champion. He said vince would prefer a corporate champion. Austin said "It sounds to me like you want to be the wwf champion. Is that right ?". Vince asked austin what he meant by that and Austin replied:

 

'Tonight I am putting the wwf title on the line. You are prabably going to ask me who my opponent is going to be. The way I look at it there can only be one opponent and that is Mr Vince Mcmahan."

 

Austin surveyed the crowd and they went nuts. He told Vince he could beat him with one arm tied behind his back and gave him a half hour to decide or he would drag him out to the ring anyway.

 

We got some funny segments throughout the show of brisco/patterson offering vince advice. Vince came back out and accepted the challenge. The main event was set.

 

When it came time for the match vince made austin tie one hand behind his back since he said earlier that he could. Then dude love interrupted. Dude Love didn't want the match to take place and Vince pushed him aside. Dude went towards vince then decided to put the mandible claw on austin instead as the show went off the air.

 

Anyone who became a fan post 1998 doesn't realize how big of a moment this was. Vince had not been seen in a match to this point. Everyone was waiting for austin to get his hands on vince. Philly was the perfect place for this show much like msg was perfect for the first stunner delivered to vince. This was also the first time wwf beat nitro in the ratings in I think 78 weeks.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

4. AUSTIN/MCMAHAN 4/13/98

 

Anyone who became a fan post 1998 doesn't realize how big of a moment this was. Vince had not been seen in a match to this point. Everyone was waiting for austin to get his hands on vince. Philly was the perfect place for this show much like msg was perfect for the first stunner delivered to vince. This was also the first time wwf beat nitro in the ratings in I think 78 weeks.

 

In hindsight, I've grown to love this moment and appreciate how special it was, but when it happened I hated it. The last thing I wanted to see at that time was 50-year-old non-wrestler main eventing against their new babyface champ. I though Nitro was going to crush it. Little did I know this would be the moment taht completely turned the tides in favor of Raw, permanently.

[Naked Snake 0]

6. ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS STONE COLD STUNNERS 9/22/97

 

This had been building for weeks. Austin was paralyzed in his summerslam match with owen hart. While he was out of action we got some pretty famous stone cold moments. JR interviewed austin from his home where he took target practice with some wwf pictures. Austin was stripped of both the ic belt and the tag belt because of his injury. Owen got a restraining order put against austin. Stone Cold was in a word... bitter.

 

Owen was in the ring cutting a promo when austin attacked him. The police hit the ring to arrest austin because of the restraining order. Vince got in the ring to prevent the arrest and to calm austin down. Vince tried to explain to austin that they were worried that austin would get injured permanently if he wrestled and everyone understood his frustration.

 

Austin replied " I apreciate the fact that you and the wwf care. I also apreciate the fact that you can kiss my ass." He then gave Vince Mcmahan his first stone cold stunner. Austin was then put in handcuffs and taken out. This was one of the most famous raws of all time and really got the ball rolling on the austin/mcmahan feud. This was an easy top 10 choice.

 

 

 

This is probably one of my favorite moments on Raw, ever. Mick Foley raves on and on about this part in the Monday Night Wars DVD. Great moment and probably one of the best Raws ever (Cactus Jack returns, Michaels and Hart come to blows after 18 months or so, McMahon vs Austin foreshadow feud)

[slabinskia 0]

3. WINNER of the MONDAY NIGHT WARS: VINCENT K MCMAHAN 3/26/01

 

I was out of town the weekend this story broke on the internet. This was the most shocking thing I've ever seen. Vince now owns wcw. The only reason this is not number 1 is because I don't consider it a positive moment. It is however, the most historic.

 

Vince appeared on nitro first and talked about how he owned wcw and that he holds everyone's lives in his hands. When he got in the ring for the simulcast he couldn't help but put himself over in every way possible. Vince talked about how wcw used to laugh at the wwf when they were winning the ratings and "He who laughs last laughs best". Vince then basically challenged Ted Turner to come to wrestlemania.

 

Vince then said he had a choice of putting wcw on the shelf or making it another huge wrestling company like wwf. He then surveyed the crowd on some of wcw wrestlers. Hogan,Steiner,Booker,Bagwell,Sting all got named. Then the crowd themselves starting chanting for goldberg. (Personally, I feel that if they were able to bring in any top stars at the time it would have helped tremendously.)

 

Vince then said that he was putting wcw on the shelf and it would be buried. (That is what happened). Shane Mcmahan then appeared on the screen. He said that the contract was already signed for wcw only it was his name on the contract and not vince.

 

Again, this is imo the most important moment in raw. It is not my favorite. The top two are my two favorites and they were tough to choose from. Until next time.

[CanadianChris 0]

I'm trying to think of what the top two could be, and I'm drawing a bit of a blank. The only two I can think of were both Bret vs. Sid matches -- the one the night after Final Four where they had to restart the match twice and Austin ended up costing Bret the title in the end, and the cage match the week before WrestleMania where Austin tried to help Bret win the title to make their WM match a title match, only to be foiled by Undertaker (with Bret's classic tirade after the match).

 

I still think the Halifax RAW from 1997, with HBK's killer promo after being announced as the Summerslam guest referee, Bret and Vince's hockey fight, and the flag match should have been on here somewhere. That's still one of the top 10 episodes of RAW I've ever seen.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

If they have anything to do with nipple slips I'm issuing a mercy ban.

[slabinskia 0]

If they have anything to do with nipple slips I'm issuing a mercy ban.

 

lol. They do not include nipple slips. I am surprised nobody has been able to guess them by this point. I guess I am the only one who likes the last two that much. I will post them later. As far as the bret/vince hockey fight episode goes, I might not have seen that because I don't remember it at all. One honorable mention goes to the night after rumble 97 where Bret went out and quit the company before they made the final four match. Bret's character from survivor series 96 until survivor series 97 was awesome.

[Black Lushus 0]

Bret's character from survivor series 96 until survivor series 97 was awesome.

 

really, the only time I was ever into him.

[slabinskia 0]

2. THIS IS HOW YOU GET EVERYONE TALKING 1/19/98

 

While nitro was still winning in the ratings and putting on some good shows, the wwf had been putting on the better product for much of 1997. They were gaining viewers. They became an edgier product. They just needed something that would grab everyone's attention.

 

It was the night after the royal rumble where Stone Cold won the match and would face HBK at wrestlemania. With the wwf getting more popular, Vince wanted something special for wrestlemania so he decided to bring in a celebrity. He called Mike Tyson.

 

They showed wrestlers interacting with tyson throughout the show. To end raw Vince was in the ring and introduced Mike Tyson. He was getting ready to make the announcement that tyson would be the special second ref for the match. Cue Stone Cold.

 

Austin got in the ring and made it clear that Mike Tyson was in his ring and he was not welcomed. "Your out here calling yourself the baddest man on the planet. Right now you've got your eyes locked on to the eyes of the worlds toughest son of a bitch." Austin gave tyson the one finger salute and it was a massive pull apart. Vince tried getting at austin for ruining the surprise.

 

This got the wwf national coverage and got the hype machine rolling for wrestlemania. It also got a bunch of non wrestling fans to start watching raw and it lead to the huge ratings raw would start getting every monday. It was also somewhat of a swerve to get everyone thinking there would be an austin/tyson match at wm when that was never the intention.

 

That only leaves one more left and if you don't like my choice to steal a quote :

 

 

1. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, TOUGH SHIT 3/17/97

 

The award for best in ring meltdown goes to: Bret Hart. From the time bret returned at survivor series everything that could go wrong for him did. Nothing went in bret's favor and he got more and more upset each week. The problem was he began complaining about each event that went in favor of austin or hbk or whatever opponent he was facing. The fans took objection to that since bret painted himself as a top notch role model who always turned the other cheek. Bret's main objection at the time was Steve Austin.

 

Austin was a classic heel in every sense. He was so good at being the heel that he got a cult following. That cult following started to grow as weeks went by. Austin went out of his way to get involved in bret's matches in every way possible. The match for wrestlemania was set and it would be a submission match.

 

On the last raw before wm, Bret was facing Sid in a cage match for the world title. This created an interesting situation. Sid was facing Undertaker at wm and Bret was facing Austin. Both mens opponents at wm tried during the match to help them win so that they could be the one to get the title shot. Smart booking. In the end, Undertaker slammed the cage door in brets face and Sid won the match which meant Bret was on the short end yet again. That was the straw that broke the camels back.

 

After the match, Vince got in the ring to interview Bret about the loss. This was 6 months before the stunner heard round the world and Vince was still just an announcer at this point. He told Bret that he must be frustrated over the loss. Bret shoved Vince down and gave this classic rant:

 

" Frustrated isn't a god damn word for it. This is bullshit. You screwed me. Everybody screwed me and nobody does a god damn thing about it. Nobody in the building cares. Nobody in the dressing room cares. So much god damn injustice around here. Ive had it up to here. I know it. Everybody knows it. I should be the wwf champion. Everybody keeps turning the blind eye to it. You keep turning the blind eye to it. I've got gorilla Monsoon, he turns the blind eye to it. Everybody in that god damn dressing room knows that I'm the best there is,the best there was and the best there ever will be. And if you don't like it tough shit."

 

At this point austin got on the titantron and blamed bret for losing the match and told him all he does is cry like a baby. Bret tld austin to come to the ring. Sid made his way to the ring and he and bret had a stare down until undertaker came down to the ring. Bret went after taker for slamming the door on him. Austin came down to the ring. It was a huge brawl for the next 10 minutes as all 4 wrestlers fought. Funny bit where bret punches out pat patterson and vince who is back on commentary says "he just hit hall of famer pat patterson. That dirty rotten son of a..." Shawn Michaels then came down to the ring and went untouched. Bret tried to get after hbk but he was brawling with austin. The show went off the air during the brawl.

 

The slow change in brets character leading up to this was great. You knew bret was going to snap eventually but this was far beyond what anyone expected. This lead to the double turn at wrestlemania and my favorite wwf match of all time. That lead to the Austin era and the second boom period in wrestling.

 

Thoughts on my top 50 ? Any suggestions for my next top 50 ?

[CanadianChris 0]

Well, I got one out of two. I totally blanked on Tyson; that definitely belongs in the top 5.

 

Austin costing Bret the title the day after Final Four belongs on this list somehow, though.

[CanadianChris 0]

Oh, and how does Bret reforming the Hart Foundation not get a spot on this list at all? That was a classic moment all by itself.

[CanadianChris 0]

Here is how I would see a top 50 list. Upon inspection, it's pretty close to slabinskia's list...I'm sure if I really went over the recaps with a fine-toothed comb, I would probably end up changing quite a few of these:

 

50. Jim Cornette shoots on the Clique and Eric Bischoff

49. Austin comes to ring in Zamboni, attacks Vince; later defeats Kane to regain WWF title

48. HBK "loses his smile," forfeits WWF title

47. Marty Jannetty beats HBK for IC title

46. HBK saves HHH from a Spirit Squad beatdown, HHH and HBK reform DX

45. HHH gives Orton thumbs down, kicks him out of Evolution and delivers brutal beating

44. Taka Michinoku almost beats HHH for WWF title

43. Rock comes back to Raw, cuts heel turn promo in Toronto; Booker T eliminates Rock in battle royal to earn WrestleMania title shot

42. Vader attacks president Gorilla Monsoon in second night in WWF, suspended indefinitely

41. Batista gives HHH thumbs down, accepts shot at HHH's title for WrestleMania

40. Mr. Perfect defeats Flair in Loser Leaves Town match

39. Angle and Austin compete for Vince's attention, wear funny hats (but no badges)

38. Austin gives Corporation a beer bath

37. Foley beats Terry Funk in hardcore match to earn title shot against Austin

36. HBK cuts heel promo on Hogan (and Bret) in Montreal

35. HBK gives Sid the night off, Sid gives HBK three powerbombs

34. HBK beats Shelton Benjamin in Gold Rush tournament

33. Flair nearly beats HHH for WWE title in Greensboro

32. Mankind debuts Mr. Socko in hospital visit to Vince; Austin poses as doctor, attacks Vince in hospital

31. Razor Ramon loses to "unknown" rookie 1-2-3 Kid

30. Dude Love debuts, helps Austin beat Owen & Bulldog for tag team titles

29. DX parodies The Nation

28. Kurt Angle does moonsault off the top of the cage in match against Chris Benoit

27. Vince strips Austin of IC title and awards it to the Rock (who thinks Vince should fire him); Austin steals the belt and throws it into a river the following week

26. ECW alumni turn on WWF, Paul Heyman and ECW join the InVasion

25. HBK announced as guest referee for Bret/Undertaker title match at Summerslam (with stipulations); Bret attacks Vince following announcement

24. ECW invited to Raw while regular roster is in Middle East

23. Radicalz show up on Raw

22. Austin smashes Bret with a chair in match with Sid, costs Bret WWF title

21. Rock challenges Hogan to match at WrestleMania X-8, gets beaten down by nWo

20. Flair announces he is co-owner of WWF

19. X-Pac returns; HHH recruits New Age Outlaws to new DX

18. HBK collapses during match with Owen

17. Bulldog beats Owen in European title tournament final

16. Jericho beats HHH for WWF title...for ten minutes

15. Bret interrupts match between Owen and Bulldog, reforms Hart Foundation

14. Austin & HBK win tag titles from Owen & Bulldog

13. DX invades WCW show at Norfolk Scope

12. Austin challenges Vince to a WWF title match, Dude Love interrupts and attacks Austin

11. Austin invades Pillman's house; Pillman pulls a gun

10. Eric Bischoff announced as new Raw GM

9. Bret turns heel...in the U.S. only

8. Nitro simulcast; Shane shows up on Nitro to announce his purchase of WCW

7. Bret snaps following cage match loss to Sid

6. Jericho revealed as WWF's "Millennium"

5. Stone Cold stuns Vince for the first time

4. Benoit & Jericho win tag titles from Austin & HHH

3. Mankind beats Rock for WWF title

2. Austin destroys Bret's knee in street fight, attacks him in ambulance; Pillman returns to ambush Austin

1. Austin confronts Mike Tyson

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

The Austin-Tyson confrontation made the front page of my local newspaper's sports section when it happened. I can't recall any other time when wrestling was even mentioned in the paper, except maybe the Rodman-Malone match in WCW.

[Darth Vader 0]

Lots of love for 1997. The greatest year ever in wrestling history.

[Black Lushus 0]

Lots of love for 1997. The greatest year ever in wrestling history.

 

I really can't agree more...I can't wait until 24/7 gets into the Monday Night Wars during 1997, can't wait!

[CanadianChris 0]

Where are they at now? I'm probably going to be getting 24/7 next month.

[Black Lushus 0]

December 1996, so they're just on the cusp. I believe it's the Raw before whatever IYH that was where HBK cost Bret the title match against Sid.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

December 1996, so they're just on the cusp. I believe it's the Raw before whatever IYH that was where HBK cost Bret the title match against Sid.

It's Time was the name of the Dec 96 IYH.

[slabinskia 0]

I prabably could have done a top 100. I figured I covered the hart foundation reforming in the bret heel promo at #5. There was alot of stuff I left out like austin throwing the ic title in the river,mr socko following by austin attacking vince in the hospital. I always liked the steiners/quebeckers title switch from late 93 though I havent seen it in years. The savage/crush feud was cool at the time too.