Ahead of the 1,000th episode of Raw this Monday night, here's a look at what I consider to be the most memorable (and best-forgotten) Raw moments, broken down into a number of categories.
Greatest (Announced) Raw Comeback Ever
Bret Hart - January 4, 2010 - A return that many assumed would never happen - and even fewer foresaw the Hitman/Shawn Michaels handshake moments later.
Greatest (Unannounced) Raw Comeback Ever
Brock/ Lesnar/The Rock - April 2, 2012/February 14,2011 - A tie between the eight-years-in-the-making return of the Pain, and the seven-years-in-the-making comeback of the Most Electrifying Man In Sports-Entertainment.
Biggest Episode Of Raw Ever
Raw Homecoming - October 3, 2005 - The first ever 3-hour Raw marked its return to USA Network with appearances from Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, Roddy Piper and Mick Foley, plus the return of Triple H, an Iron Man match, a Ladder match, a WWE Title match and more.
Funniest Raw Moment Ever
The Rock Concert - March 24, 2003 - The Rock was at its funniest as the Hollywood sell-out bad guy in 2003, and on this night, virtually everything he said, from the Sacramento song to the insults at The Hurricane's expense, were hilarious.
Most Memorable Raw Speech Ever
CM Punk - June 27, 2011 - At a time when interviews rarely stand out, this one made an impact, and led Punk to an 8-month+ reign as WWE Champion.
Biggest Raw Upset Ever
123 Kid vs. Razor Ramon - May 17, 1993 - In 1993, big names never lost to unknowns. Here, however, "the Kid did it", to quote Randy Savage, and he would go on to have a memorable career in WWE.
Best Raw Debut Ever
Chris Jericho - August 9, 1999 - Y2J made an immediate splash after a great build-up to an arrival in WWE history. It's hard to imagine anyone who has never been in WWE before having a debut like this.
Most Embarrassing Raw Moment Ever
Diva Search - 2004 - The summer-long competition had several candidates which, in some cases, lasted almost a quarter of the entire show. For that reason, it gets the nod here.
Most Emotional Raw Moment Ever
Ric Flair's Farewell Address - March 31, 2008 - The Nature Boy's career had just ended at WrestleMania XXIV, but dozens of wrestlers, ex-wrestlers and more said "Thank you Ric!" in an unforgettable goodbye. Flair's subsequent activities in wrestling couldn't dampen this moment.
Most Emotional Raw Episode Ever
Raw Is Owen - May 24, 1999 - Raw was dedicated to Owen Hart, who had died 24 hours earlier. This particular Raw is a reminder that even the most important aspects of wrestling are insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Longest-Running Mystery That Was Solved On Raw Ever
The Anonymous Raw GM - June 21, 2010-July 9, 2012 - Over two years passed between the GM's debut and the revelation that it was Hornswoggle.
Longest-Running Mystery That Was Not Solved On Raw Ever
GTV - 1999-2000 - So, who was behind the secret filming of various Superstars?
Most Entertaining Raw Segment Ever
The Rock: This Is Your Life - September 27, 1999 - A near 30-minute tribute to The Rock by Mankind got a massive rating in the US, and was incredibly entertaining for virtually the entire duration.
Best Parody On Raw Ever
DX impersonate The McMahons - June 26, 2006 - Triple H and Shawn Michaels' impression of Vince and Shane McMahon just beats the DX parody of The Nation Of Domination in 1998.
Most Chaotic Raw Match Ever
TLC IV - October 7, 2002 - Raw Roulette produced a carnage-filled TLC bout won by Kane.
Best Authority Figure On Raw Ever
Vince McMahon - 1998-1999 - At his peak, Mr. McMahon was the greatest wrestling villain ever - and yet he hardly wrestled. No GM has come close to replicating Vince, although Mick Foley as Commissioner is fondly remembered for being the complete opposite of Vinnie Mac.
Most Entertaining Raw Wedding Ever
Triple H & Stephanie McMahon's wedding vow renewal - February 11, 2002 - The moment that ended their 2 year+ on-screen marriage was entertaining in so many ways.
Most Uncomfortably Realistic Raw Moment Ever
Pillman-Austin - November 4, 1996 - Anyone watching Raw on this night may have genuinely felt that someone had been shot when Stone Cold invaded Brian Pillman's home. The incident almost saw Raw kicked off the USA Network.
Best Raw Build-up To A Debut Ever
Kane - 1997 - Paul Bearer first announced a dark secret of The Undertaker's in May 1997. In July, he announced that Kane was coming. In October, he arrived (at Badd Blood). And it was nearly seven more months before he finally collided with Taker.
Best Catch Phrase On Raw Ever
What? - 2001-2012 - A good catch phrase may sell a T-shirt. A great catch phrase may remain relevant for months. Austin's use of "What?" began in 2001, and is still widely used by fans to drown out their least favourite wrestlers 11 years later. "Yes!" is a close second.
Worst Raw Episode Ever
Jeremy Piven as Guest Host - August 3, 2009 - An annoying host, with an even more annoying sidekick. Stranger still, WWE classes this as a genuinely great episode. It wasn't.
Best Moment Solely Involving A Celebrity On Raw Ever
William Shatner - Februaty 1, 2010 - His segment wherein he sung the lyrics to WWE theme songs was hilarious.
Best Moment Involving A Celebrity And A Wrestler On Raw Ever
Tyson and Austin - January 19, 1998 - This confrontation got tons of mainstream media coverage all over the world, and was a major incident in establishing the new direction of the WWF.
Most Unexpected Raw Moment Ever
The Raw/Nitro simulcast - March 26, 2001 - When Raw was launched in 1993, the thought that a segment would one day go out live on both a WWF and WCW show was unthinkable. But it happened, as WCW was purchased and Nitro's run ended.
Best Raw Faction Ever
Evolution - 2003-2005 - Other groups got higher ratings or had more memorable moments, but Evolution ruled Raw for over two years, had the World Title for much of that time, as well as other Titles, and catapulted Batista and Randy Orton to stardom.
Greatest Raw Feud Ever
Austin vs. McMahon - 1997-1999 - What else? The icon of the Attitude Era vs. the king of villainous on-screen authority figures led to a rivalry that lasted for nearly 2 years the first time around, and served up more all-time memorable moments than the show has had in the last half a decade.
Best Raw Announcer Ever
Jim Ross - 1993-2011 - Good Old JR was a staple of the Attitude Era, in particular, and his voice helped to make some of Raw's greatest ever moments legendary.
Most Momentous Raw Draft Pick Ever
John Cena - June 6, 2005 - The Draft is (or was) meant to change the WWE landscape. Then-WWE Champ Cena became Raw's top star, and WWE's top star, and has been for 7 years since, suggesting that this Draft pick was more than successful.
Best Raw Match Ever
John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels - April 23, 2007 - This covers A LOT of ground, but a near-hour epic in London stands out above all non-stipulation Raw bouts.
Most Entertaining Villain On Raw Ever
Kurt Angle - 1999-2002 - Although Vince was king of the villains, and Triple H and Edge were also incredibly good at attracting fan hatred, in the first half of his WWF/WWE tenure, Angle was almost always entertaining outside the ring, and provided tons of action inside it.
Most Entertaining Fan Favourite On Raw Ever
Stone Cold Steve Austin - 1997-2011 - The Texas Rattlesnake edges out The Rock for being involved in everything from monster truck sessions to hospital beatdowns to singing the Beverly Hillbillies theme.
Most Unexpected Arrival On Raw Ever
Goldberg/Eric Bischoff - March 31, 2003/July 15, 2002 - A tie between WCW's biggest star and most notorious promotor, neither of whom fans realistically believed would ever appear on Raw.
Best In-Ring Debut On Raw Ever
Mankind - April 1, 1996 - In one night, he had his first WWF match and interrupted The Undertaker's bout, which led to a classic feud, which eventually led to the ultimate OMG match, Hell In A Cell at King Of The Ring 1998.
Best Raw Episode Ever
The Alliance Is Formed - July 9, 2001 - This also covers a lot of ground - after all, there's been 999 episodes - but on this night, WCW turned villainous, ECW was revived, and WCW and ECW joined forces, with a new boss for the reborn ECW. The inter-promotional war was on.
Most Missed Raw Attraction Ever
The Hardcore Title/24/7 - 1998-2002 - Anything goes combat with bouts that could happen at any time, and literally anywhere. This would definitely spice up Raw if it were to return.
Most Dragged-Out Feud On Raw Ever
Hornswoggle vs. Chavo Guerrero - 2009 - Literally the same thing happened, with the slight adjustment, every week for about 5 or 6 months running. Not the best time in Raw history.
Strangest Raw Moment Ever
Musical Chairs - July 5, 2004 - Guest GM Eugene organised musical chairs to determine a contender to a Championship that night. Chris Jericho won, but Ric Flair's stylin' and profilin' - during a game of musical chairs - stood out the most.
Edgiest (No pun intended) Raw Moment Ever
Edge & Lita's celebration - January 9, 2006 - This Rated-R display would either be a roaring success or an all-time low. Whilst not a total smash hit, it did get Raw's biggest ratings in years.
Most Notable Example Of An Anything Can Happen Raw Moment Ever
Mae Young - February 28, 2000 - The last thing anyone expects when watching wrestling is to see a 78-year-old giving birth to a hand.
Greatest Raw Championship Triumph Ever
Mankind vs. The Rock - January 4, 1999 - Mankind's first WWF Title win got a ratings win over Nitro on an incredibly pivotal night (albeit unintentionally assisted by Tony Schiavone).
Loudest Raw Crowd Reaction Ever
The non-appearance of Bret Hart - August 15, 2005 - Even without actually being there, the mere sound of the Hitman's music in Montreal came close to literally blowing the roof off of the arena. A close second is Austin's interference in the aforementioned Mankind-Rock clash from 04/01/1999.
Most Costly Raw Moment Ever
Shane McMahon blowing up Kane - October 6, 2003 - Shane sent a limousine with Kane inside crashing into an 18-wheeler. It costs tens of thousands of dollars, but had been forgotten within a month or two.
Most Unexpected Character Change On Raw Ever
"The Funkasaurus" Brodus Clay - January 9, 2012 - Brodus had last been seen as avillainous mnoster. He returned having, without warning, become the dancing Funkasaurus. Somebody Call My Momma!
Most Insane Moment On Raw Ever
The Dumpster Ride - February 2, 1998 - Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie took a painful fall to the floor having been locked in a Dumpster, which was shoved off the ramp by The New Age Outlaws.
Best Birthday Celebration On Raw Ever
Edge's 27th Birthday - October 30, 2000 - The Rock's bash was on a grand scale, but the E&C interplay was hilarious, especially when Edge began annoying an already-enraged Triple H by singing his theme tune via a kazoo.
Most Surreal Raw Moment Ever
Austin Appreciation Night - August 20, 2001 - Few imagined when this Raw began that it would end with the Alliance singing for Stone Cold, and then being hosed down with milk by Kurt Angle.
Most Cringeworthy Yet Entertaining Raw Segment Ever
Mr. McMahon's "Club" - 2001-2008 - Even those who didn't want to watch had to - especially the first instance involving William Regal.
Most Unthinkable Raw Moment Ever
Hogan vs. The Rock - February 18, 2002 - Not many foresaw the day when The Hulkster and The Great One would square off on the mic, or in the ring (as they would at WrestleMania X8). Will a Hogan-Austin showdown ever happen?
Most Satisfying Pay-off On Raw Ever
Batista turning on Triple H - February 21, 2005 - Months of build-up finally culminated in Batista taking out Triple H, leading to his first World Title win at WrestleMania 21.
Oddest Seeing Double Raw Moment Ever
Two Undertaker's - 1994 - When it came out that The Undertaker who was brought back by The Million Dollar Man wasn't the real UT, it had many wondering where the real Taker was. He would resurface and defeat the imposter at SummerSlam.
Most Unexpected Finale To Raw Ever
Shawn Michaels superkicks Hulk Hogan - July 4, 2005 - HBK nailed his tag partner with Sweet Chin Music. Nobody saw it coming - but plenty couldn't wait to find out why he did it.
Best Example Of A Star Being Born On Raw Ever
CM Punk cashes in - June 30, 2008 - What began as an address by Jim Ross in his hometown ended with CM Punk cashing in Money In The Bank on Edge to win his first World Heavyweight Title.
Most Appealing Raw Moment To Internet Fans Ever
Matt Hardy returns - July 11, 2005 - For months, a story dominated WWE that was never mentioned in WWE. On this night, though, Matt Hardy shockingly returned, and plotted revenge on Edge and Lita.
Daftest Raw Moment Ever
Howard Finkel vs. Harvey Whippleman - 1995 - Who imagined that a Tuxedo match between a ring announcer and a manager would attract ratings?
Best Example Of A Raw Moment That Wouldn't Have Been Possible In Real Life Ever
Kane setting Jim Ross on fire - July 14, 2003 - Had this happened in reality, Kane would likely still be in jail now. As it was, JR decided not to press charges against The Big Red Machine.
Most Ludicrous Raw Moment Ever
Snitsky punting a baby doll - November 8, 2004 - I had forgotten this happened until it turned up on the OMG DVD.
Most Worrying Raw Moment Ever
Shawn Michaels collapses - November 20, 1995 - HBK fell during a match with Owen Hart, and the presentation of this meant that fans believed he was seriously hurt. As it turned out, he wasn't.
Most Unintentionally Funny Raw Moment Ever
Vader falling over - October 31, 2005 - This whole segment was surreal, but is best remembered for Vader exiting the ring and falling over in the process.
Best Example Of Something That Was Popular Back Then On Raw Ever
The Oddities/Too Cool - 1998/2000 - A tie between the hand-waving that greeted The Oddities' arrival and the post-match dance by Too Cool & Rikishi.
Biggest Business Just Picked Up Raw Moment Ever
The Nexus is formed - June 7, 2010 - WWE became a lot more interesting after Wade Barrett's troops took aim for the first time, destroying the ring in the process.
Best Insult On Raw Ever
Bret Hart - 1997 - During his anti-America phase, Bret came out with this corker on a Raw in Pittsburgh: "If they built a huge toilet bowl for the United States of America, they'd put the hose right here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!" No offence to Pittsburgh residents, but what an insult that was.
Most Bizarre Attempt To Enrage A Rival On Raw Ever
Kane - April 20, 1998 - To annoy Undertaker, Kane brought their dead parents' coffins onto Raw, and chokeslammed UT through them. Seriously.
Best Nonexistent Raw Character Ever
Little Jimmy - 2011-2012 - R-Truth's invisible enemy-turned-friend raises laughs for the sheer absurdity of Truth's subtle mannerisms towards Little Jimmy. Head, Al Snow's sidekick, is a close second.
Worst Example Of Raw Being Staged Ever
Coach-DX - October 2, 2006 - The "special" effects added to this ended any belief that wrestling wasn't pre-determined.
Most Unlikely Raw Guest Ever
Jose Mourinho - April 23, 2007 - Chelsea's manager was in the crowd for this episode, and was even mentioned (to loud boos) by Shane McMahon.
Most Hilarious Partnership On Raw Ever
Booker T & Goldust - 2002-2003 - At a time when the quality of Raw had dropped significantly, Booker & Goldie were responsible for many funny moments.
Silliest Only On Raw Moment Ever
Kaientai/Val Venis - August 3, 1998 - How this made the airwaves, and how whoever proposed it wasn't laughed out of the WWF offices, I don't know. Both hilarious and uncomfortable.
Best Raw Tag Team Ever
The Hardy Boyz - 1999-2002 - The Hardyz took tag teaming in the WWF to its highest ever level, in more ways than one.
Most Underrated Raw Match Ever
Bret Hart vs. 123 Kid - July 1, 1994 - This WWF Championship match was PPV quality, and many believed that the underdog Kid would upset the odds (again) and capture the Title. He didn't, but it was still a great match.
Worst Raw Match Ever
Trish & Bradshaw vs. Gayda & Nowinski - July 9, 2002 - Admittedly, I haven't seen this. But the fact that many put it on the all-time worst list must make it a bad one.
Best Execution Of A Finisher On Raw Ever
Shawn superkicks Shelton - May 2, 2005 - The superkick HBK caught Shelton Benjamin with to win their match was amazing. A close second is Randy Orton turning Air Bourne into an RKO on July 12 2010.
Least Remembered Raw Character Ever
Beaver Clevage - 1999 - The one-time (actually two-time, if you count a future resuming of the Headbanger guise) Mosh had a grand total of one Raw match before becoming Chaz.
Best Raw Female Ever
Chyna - 1997-2001 - A groundbreaking competitor who went from being a bodyguard to a wrestler (against male wrestlers) to IC Champ.
Most Unlikely Raw Weapon Ever
The kitchen sink - 2005 - The expression "Everything but the kitchen sink" was altered when Big Show used the very item on Snitsky.
Most Memorable Raw Theme Tune Ever
Raw Is War - 1998-2002. The song isn't great musically, but it got the adrenaline pumping during the heyday of the Attitude Era.
Greatest Raw Sidekick Ever
Mr. Socko - October 5, 1998 - Debuting by Vince's hospital bedside, before an attack by Dr. Austin, Socko helped Mankind to become more popualr than he had ever been before.
Most Embarrassing Raw Moment For The WWF/WWE Ever
Rick Rude - November 17, 1997 - The beard-sporting Ravishing One appeared with DX on the pre-taped Raw, an hour after appearing clean-shaven on the live WCW Monday Nitro.
Most Genuinely Risky Raw Moment Ever
Dudleyz/Mae - March 13, 2000 - A week after Buh Buh Ray Dudley, with D-Von's assistance, put Mae Young through a table off the top rope, he repeated the act - off the ramp. Somehow, Mae was okay.
Most Shocking Raw Moment Ever
Bang 3:16 - October 19, 1998 - This could be anything; "shocking" can be defined in so many ways. But I've opted for the moment when Stone Cold put a gun to Vince's head. Fortunately, it was only a toy: all that happened was that a message appeared saying Bang 3:16. Oh, and Vince wet himself.
Dopiest Raw Name Ever
Phineas I Godwinn - 1996-1998 - A few contenders, but having the initials PIG will hardly make you the next Hogan. Then again, it was probably better than playing the role of Naked Mideon.
Longest Forward-Planning Raw Moment Ever
The Rock vs. John Cena - April 4, 2011 - The night after WrestleMania XXVII, the main event was announced for WrestleMania XXVIII. The anticipation had reached fever pitch by April 1, 2012, when Rock would beat Cena.
Best Raw Superstar Ever
Stone Cold Steve Austin - 1996-2011 - Austin represented everything that Raw, and the Attitude Era, was about. That he still gets better reactions than virtually everyone competing in WWE today sums up the impact he had. Without Austin, Raw may not have made it to episode 1,000.
Greatest Raw Moment Ever
Beer Truck - March 22, 1999 - Six days before WrestleMania XV, Stone Cold sprayed The Rock, Vince & Shane with beer from a huge truck. A hugely memorable moment and, despite everything else, the greatest moment in Raw history.
The first 999 episodes of Raw have delivered a ton of entertainment and memorable moments, and episode 1000 will go down as a landmark in not only Raw history, but WWE history too. Will the next 1,000 episodes will be even better? Hopefully, "Yes!"
