WWE RAW: 5 best moments from the 25th anniversary episode

Check out the five best moments from the 25th anniversary episode of Monday Night RAW.

After two and a half decades and nearly 1,300 episodes, WWE Monday Night RAW held its 25th anniversary episode on Monday night. Including a one-hour kickoff show on the WWE Network and more than three hours on the USA Network that included both the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the Manhattan Center, the site of the very first episode of RAW, the WWE Universe was treated to a show full of past and present superstars and included some fun moments featuring many of the biggest stars in WWE history.

There were plenty of backstage moments to discuss throughout the night, including the APA card game featuring a number of superstars, including the return of MVP and the constant onslaught of insults toward Heath Slater. General Manager Kurt Angle had a few old-school visitors like Brother Love and The Brooklyn Brawler in his office and Chris Jericho added a new name to the list in a hilarious bit with Elias. Speaking of GM’s, we had a few of them paraded out to the stage, including Eric Bischoff, William Regal and John Laurinaitis and his awesome suit. Some of the past women’s superstars got the same treatment.

As far as Elias goes, he had easily the biggest night of his career when he got the best of John Cena just six days ahead of the Royal Rumble. That was quite the surprise. It was also surprising to see Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy jump the gun a little bit and have a match, which Bray Wyatt won fairly easily. The Dudley Boyz made their return and put Heath Slater through a table and the “ECW” chant was nice to hear. We even got an episode of The Peep Show on Monday night with Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan. That heel turn is coming quick, folks.

There were certainly a few disappointing segments in there as well, including the final segment of the night. With the show going very long, Braun Strowman, Kane and WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar got about four minutes of time and while some of the action was hard-hitting, it wasn’t anything special, perhaps because some of the other segments leading to this Triple Threat Match at the Royal Rumble have been so good.

Also missing from this top-five list was the return of The Undertaker. Perhaps it’s just me but this should have been so much better. The entrance looked odd with the lights on (not sure when the last time he came in without darkness) and I found it strange that Wyatt got them turned off for him later on. But the ‘Taker thing was really confusing and didn’t do much for me at all.

So let’s take a look at some of the segments that did do something for me. I’m sure some of you will fight me on the order but let’s go ahead with the five best moments of RAW 25.

5. Asuka makes a statement

I really enjoyed the eight-woman tag match that saw Bayley, Mickie James, Sasha Banks and Asuka defeat Absolution, Alicia Fox and Nia Jax. It was also great to see Paige still coming out with her team despite what she’s had to endure recently with the possible career-ending injury. I thought these eight women got some nice airtime and the match itself was very solid with Sasha Banks getting the win for her team by making Alicia Fox tap out to the Banks Statement.

However, the night wasn’t over for the ladies. With just six days remaining before the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match, Asuka made a big statement by attacking her teammates after the match and showing them what could be in store come Sunday by throwing Sasha, Bayley and Mickie over the top rope. I thought this was a great way to keep the momentum going into the match and not letting it get lost in the shuffle with everything that was happening on this show. Great stuff here.

4. DX and The Balor Club have a “Too Sweet” moment

One of the big reunions advertised for RAW 25 was that of DX, who obviously played a huge part in the show’s history. Shawn Michaels and Triple H were out first and after calming down Michaels, Triple H thanked the crowd at the Manhattan Center for all of their support over the years. Pretty standard stuff to start but the crowd was hot for it.

It was great to hear Triple H mention Ravishing Rick Rude and I was especially pleased and surprised to hear him bring up Chyna. That was a very cool moment. The two founding members were soon joined in the ring by The New Age Outlaws, who did what they do, and then by X-Pac, who in turn introduced Scott Hall to the proceedings, even if the show cut to commercial when he was being introduced. Very bad timing there, guys.

It seemed to be a pretty basic segment there for a minute until things got a little more interesting when Finn Balor, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson showed up and the two factions had an awesome moment when they all shared the “Too Sweet” signal right in the middle of the ring.

But it wasn’t even over there. After Gallows and Anderson beat The Revival in a fairly quick match, everyone got a chance to get a finisher in. It was kind of like watching The Ascension get thrown to the wolves a couple of years ago but still made for entertaining television and Billy Gunn sent the crowd home happy with those famous two words.

3. Mean Gene Okerlund interviews AJ Styles

I’ll go ahead and admit that I got goosebumps watching this. Growing up in the 1980s, I watched Mean Gene Okerlund interview every major WWE superstar there was and to watch him interview AJ Styles was a little surreal. Oh, but it gets even better. Watching AJ Styles start the interview by impersonating Hulk Hogan. Come on, that’s just too good. Easily my favorite short segment of the night.

2. The Miz beats Roman Reigns for the Intercontinental Championship

Coming into RAW 25, the WWE Intercontinental Championship bout between Roman Reigns and The Miz was really the only match advertised for the show. Miz had an I-C title rematch coming to him after losing the strap and this was actually a very good place to have the match, even if nobody thought that The Miz actually stood a chance here. Well, that shows what I know. First of all, having The Miz walk in when Daniel Bryan was standing on the stage was beautiful given their history.

Roman Reigns dominated the opening minutes of this match and I thought they were just going to squash The Miz on this night but as I said, I was completely wrong. The Miz got plenty of offense in here and even after The Miztourage was sent to the back, he still found a way to pick up the win. Was it necessarily clean? Well, no. However, watching him pick up a big victory like that over Roman Reigns was still very surprising and very entertaining. I’ve got to hand it to creative on that one. With the win, The Miz has now held the Intercontinental Championship eight times, just one short of the record held by Chris Jericho.

1. Stone Cold stuns the McMahons

Sorry, but on a night celebrating the 25th anniversary of Monday Night RAW, there was nothing better than revisiting the biggest rivalry in the history of the show. No matter what, the opening segment was going to be huge and with Shane and Stephanie McMahon being out there to kick things off before bringing out Vince, I was already in.

However, when Vince went into Mr. McMahon mode almost immediately and started bashing the Brooklyn crowd, I knew that things were heading in an amazing direction. After Shane and Steph attempted to give their dad a commemorative plaque, which was hilarious, Vince continued to insult the live audience until he got a little more company in the ring.

After so many years, I’ve got zero problem that I marked out a bit seeing Austin and Vince in the ring together. And Vince making fun of himself for being a little older these days and essentially throwing Shane to the wolves was classic Mr. McMahon behavior.

Now, Austin usually likes to celebrate a Stunner with a beer or two and Vince actually had a couple ready for him and the two clinked cans and took a few sips after embracing one another but we all knew what was coming and the 25th anniversary episode of Monday Night RAW just HAD to include Stone Cold Steve Austin giving Vince McMahon a Stone Cold Stunner and that’s exactly what we got.

Shane got himself another one and the segment ended with Austin enjoying a few more beverages while getting the Brooklyn crowd ready for a big night. You normally don’t want your best moment to kick off a show but there was no better way to start.

Next: 25 biggest stars in WWE Monday Night RAW history

What was your favorite moment of RAW 25? Feel free to join in the conversation in the comments section below.