5 biggest Monday Night Raw moments ever
One of the longest running weekly television shows in the history, WWE Raw first aired on January 11, 1993. Since then, it has been a favorite among WWE fans. Raw has been witness to some epic moments in its 25-year journey. Here we would like to present to you five such incidents which can be considered the best.
January 11, 1993: WWE changes wrestling business forever
Raw's first episode debuted on January 11, 1993. Before this, wrestling promotions used television only to advertise or show pay-per-view bouts. But, by making wrestling a weekly affair on television, Vince McMahon started oiling an untapped market and changed the business of professional wrestling. Raw went on to become the most popular wrestling show on television.
March 22, 1999: Austin's beer truck
A week before WrestleMania 1999, as The Rock and the McMahons were celebrating his WWE Championship, Stone Cold interrupted the celebrations and how! The Rattlesnake rode into the arena, down the ramp and parked a massive beer truck just outside the ring. Then Stone Cold rained down beer on all the people in the ring, spoiling Rock's moment of fame.
June 27, 2011: The most controversial WWE promo
One of the most talented performers in WWE history, CM Punk never got his due. McMahon's handling of superstars forced Punk to do something that got immortalized in WWE folklore. On the live Raw episode, Punk sat cross-legged and aired all his grievances about WWE. He spared no one that day, so much so that the microphone's audio was cut off by WWE officials.
January 4, 1999: Mankind wins championship, WWE wins ratings war
World Championship Wrestling destroyed its future when the company announced, on Nitro, that Mankind would be winning the WWE Championship on January 4, 1999. Mankind, a huge crowd favorite, was fighting against Rock for the championship. However, what WWE's competitor did not anticipate was millions would tune in to watch him win. That day, it lost the ratings war to WWE forever.
March 26, 2001: Shane McMahon buys WCW
On Raw of March 26, 2001, WWE announced to the world that it has bought the company's biggest competitor, the World Championship Wrestling. McMahon berated the show and said on air that World Championship Wrestling would be shelved. But suddenly Shane McMahon appeared at Monday Nitro and via a live-stream, stated that the contract had his name on it. Thus began the Invasion story-line.
