By: Keila Cash
Date: 1-22-2018
Primary Location: The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Secondary Location: The Manhattan Center in New York City, New York
Happy Anniversary: Raw Turns 25!
Rest of the Show: Meh…
· Shane and Stephanie McMahon kicked off Raw 25 with a video package recapping the most memorable moments over the past 25 years. Afterward, Shane and Stephanie introduced Vince McMahon so he could take a bow for creating a wrestling juggernaut.
· Vince was moved by the ovation, but things quickly went south when his kids gave him a plaque commemorating the occasion. Apparently, Shane and Steph set up a GoFundMe page which resulted in limited donations coming in. Vince was offended that the gift was so cheap before running down the city of Brooklyn because they had plaque on the teeth and arteries for eating too many hot dogs.
· Vinnie Mac decided to thank himself for being the mastermind behind Raw and took credit for the show being a success. Before he could continue, Stone Cold Steve Austin came out to a raucous ovation.
· Stephanie immediately left the ring while Shane stuck around like a lamb being led to slaughter. Vince tried to calm Stone Cold down by claiming that he was a senior citizen suffering from a number of health ailments. Because of his AARP status, Vince appointed Shane to fight Austin on his behalf.
· Shane-O-Mac tried to make nice with The Rattlesnake, but he got bit with a Stunner instead.
· Vince grabbed a couple of cans of Miller Lite and shared a toast with his arch nemesis. The beer drinking continued until Austin dropped Vince with the Stunner as the crowd popped something fierce. Austin celebrated by drinking some Steveweisers as Shane McMahon regained consciousness.
· Shane tried to share another toast with Austin, but he got nailed with another Stunner as the opening segment came to an end with Austin giving the audience the double middle finger salute.
· This was a great way to start the show. Vince McMahon and Stone Cold had another classic encounter while Shane was thrown to the wolves by his own father. Just like old times!
· Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mickie James, and Asuka defeated Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Nia Jax, and Alicia Fox when Banks made Fox tap out to the Bank Statement in a decent eight-woman tag team match. However, Asuka reminded her tag team partners that it’s every woman herself at the Royal Rumble when she tossed James, Bayley, and Banks over the top rope. Is this a sign of things to come? We shall find out soon enough.
· The Undertaker appeared at the Manhattan Center and cut an ominous promo about the future. It wasn’t a retirement announcement but left me very confused, to say the least.
· The Miz became an eight-time Intercontinental Champion when he defeated Roman Reigns with the Skull Crushing Finale in a good match. The Miztourage (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas) paid dividends at ringside as they took cheap shots at Reigns behind the referee’s back. Reigns eventually nailed both men with the Drive-By. The diversion allowed Miz to remove the covering from the middle turnbuckle which played into the finish.
· Reigns nailed Miz with a Superman Punch and was about to finish him off with the Spear when Dallas grabbed Reigns’ leg. The ref caught Dallas red-handed which led to him and Axel being tossed from ringside.
· The distraction allowed Miz to hit Reigns with the Skull Crushing Finale for a near fall. Reigns charged after Miz, but the A-Lister moved out the way as Reigns slammed his head against the exposed turnbuckle which set up the finish moments later.
· The crowd popped for the finish because they hated Reigns. This was the perfect setting for Reigns to drop the title which should lead to his presumed Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.
· Jason Jordan generated the third-most heel heat on the show as he couldn’t get a word in edgewise during his appearance on Christian’s Peep Show. Seth Rollins looked on in astonishment as Jordan died on the proverbial vine.
· Cesaro and Sheamus came out to tell Jordan that he sucked which led to Jordan attacking Sheamus. The brawl was on as Rollins laid out Sheamus with a tope. Jordan held Cesaro so he could take a flying knee from Rollins, but the Swiss Superman moved out of the way as Rollins took out Jordan instead. To say that the crowd was overjoyed would be an understatement. All in all, this was a nice way to hype the Raw Tag Team Championship Match at the Rumble.
· Bray Wyatt defeated Matt Hardy with Sister Abigail in a subpar match. The Manhattan Center is getting the short end of the stick when it comes to seeing quality in-ring action.
· Nice cameo by Chris Jericho as he put Elias and his scarves on the list. Y2J deserves a full segment, damn it!
· The oddest feud of 2018 is John Cena vs. Elias. Elias was singing a ditty when Cena interrupted him. Cena was in the middle of cutting a promo when Elias told him to shut up. He blamed Cena for ruining his moment. Cena told him to do something about it.
· Elias told him that he doesn’t answer to Cena or the scumbag fans in Brooklyn as he headed out of the ring.
· Elias tried to sneak attack Cena, but he was dropped with the Five Knuckle Shuffle instead. Cena went for the AA, but Elias wiggled out of the move as he nailed Cena with a low blow. He grabbed his guitar and struck Cena in the back before hitting the Drift Away to wrap up the segment.
· Elias is such a great asshole. His personality continues to shine and he’s in a high profile feud with John Cena. Their first match on Christmas night left a lot to be desired, but their second outing should be much better once they work out the kinks. Hopefully…
· Heath Slater and Rhyno vs. Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews ended abruptly when the referee called for the bell after both teams were disqualified for kicking too much ass.
· The Dudley Boyz helped ease the pain when Bubba Ray and D-Von put Heath Slater through a table. It was a beautiful moment that made the previous match worth enduring.
· Mene Gene Okerlund interviewing AJ Styles was a nice surprise. Styles impersonating Hulk Hogan was surreal, but he sold it like a champ.
· The DX Reunion was cool as Triple H and Shawn Michaels paid homage to Ravishing Rick Rude and Chyna before introducing The New Age Outlaws. X-Pac made a surprise appearance followed by Razor Ramon. For some reason, WWE cut to commercial which made Ramon’s entrance super awkward.
· Fortunately, Ramon had a chance to address the crowd before The Bàlor Club came out. Both factions joined forces for a Too Sweet Salute as the crowd popped for the moment. Billy Gunn was about to say his signature line when The Revival came out to interrupt.
· Gallows and Anderson defeated The Revival when Karl Anderson pinned Dash Wilder with the Magic Killer. The match was nothing special, but it was a means to an end as Dash and Dawson took a parade of finishes from the DX-Bàlor Club Kliq. Billy Gunn finally said his catchphrase as the crowd joined in on the “Suck It!” chant. This was nice a dose of nostalgia that sent the Manhattan crowd home happy.
· Meanwhile, all hell broke loose at the Barclays Center when Brock Lesnar nailed Braun Strowman with a wicked clothesline at ringside before hitting Kane with the F5. Strowman went back on the attack as he knocked Lesnar out of the ring with a clothesline.
· Strowman tossed The Beast against the barricade before power slamming him through the announce table as the crowd popped for the spot. Raw 25 went off the air with the Monster standing tall while the Beast and the Machine licked their wounds at ringside.
· This was an abrupt way to end the show. Lesnar was on the warpath until Strowman put in that work. Strowman has been unstoppable over the past few weeks. However, the outcome heading into the Triple Threat Match on Sunday remains the same. Lesnar will retain the Universal Championship and face Roman Reigns for the title at WrestleMania 34. Anything less would be a shocker. I would love to see WWE swerve us all, but that is highly unlikely unless something crazy happens. Kane will eat the pin while Strowman maintains his street cred for being a badass. Consider it a guaran-damn-tee! I think…
· Overall, I thought Raw 25 did a nice job paying tribute to past while putting a spotlight on the future. The show dragged at times as the in-ring action left a lot to be desired. Roman Reigns vs. The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship wins best match of the night honors by default because WWE had a tough time serving two masters as the action was dry at the Manhattan Center until DX came out during the third hour.
· The company running two shows in two different location seemed like a good idea on paper. However, the execution was so-so as the fans had to watch half the show on the big screen while feeling cheated if certain stars didn’t show up at their venue. It was a hot ass mess, to say the least.
· My favorite part of the show was the poker game involving the APA (JBL can still kiss my ass after blocking me on Twitter), Heath Slater, Rhyno, Ted DiBiase, MVP, The Usos, Natalya, The New Day, and Jeff Hardy. It was mindless fun as Slater kept getting bad beats until he had to resort to cheating in order to win a hand. Dana Brooke busted him which resulted in The Million Dollar Man taking down the pot with a royal flush.
· The presentation of former Raw General Managers was cool as well as the women from the past getting their moment in the spotlight. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a few of them appear in the Women’s Royal Rumble on Sunday.
· The Rock not appearing on the show was a letdown, but his production schedule is super busy these days. Batista making a cameo appearance would’ve been sweet as well, but it wasn’t meant to be.
· Raw 1000 remains one of the best Raws of all time. Raw 25 had too many lull spots which prevented the show from being an all-time classic. Here’s hoping Raw 30 has a bit more bite in 2023 because the future is bright if the E doesn’t wet and shit the bed.
· Until then, the Road to WrestleMania kicks off with the Royal Rumble on Sunday. Who will punch their tickets to New Orleans? We shall find out soon enough. And so it begins…again.
On that note, this wraps up another edition of The Raw Exposé. I hope you enjoyed it and I will be back tomorrow night with a brand new installment of The SmackDown Files. See you later, boys and girls!
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