In-between Yokozuna vs. Koko B. Ware and Lyra Valkyria vs. IYO SKY, there have been countlesswrestlingmatches onRaw.
Before you ask, no, none of these matches include The Great Khali.
I know, Im just as surprised as you are.
Perfect vs. Ric Flair (1/25/93)
It only took the third episode ofRawfor a great match to happen.
Perfect and Ric Flair.
Their hatred reached a level where there wasnt enough room in the company for the both of them.
Hence, a match where the loser would have to leave the promotion.
With Perfect refreshing his in-ring career and Flair being a recentWWF Champion, the winner didnt seem so obvious.
It gets a little confusing.
No longer was itHulk Hoganonly defending the belt for special events or house shows.
Putting the honorable champion against the ultimate underdog was a masterclass in great wrestling.
Rather than move on, Bret insisted on restarting the match and things kicked into gear.
Mankind vs.
Many viewers heard this warning and responded, Dont threaten me with a good time!
Schiavone joked about how that would put butts in seats, and he wasnt wrong.
Everyone in that arena excitedly stood up for that one.
The Rock, Cactus Jack, Rikishi, and Too Cool vs. Just dont expect WWE to promote its existence, considering it was won by Chris Benoit.
The match isnt a long one, but it doesnt let up.
Everyone gets to have their moment in the sun while the crowd remains electric throughout.
The ending is a mere formality, as the brawling continues after the bell.
The only thing that can put the carnage to bed?
The surprise appearance of Kane to help the faces wipe the ring.
That said, when he faced Jeff Hardy in his one and only ladder match, things really clicked.
It even gave us an all-timer Jim Ross call of, Climb that ladder, kid!
while the camera work really did a great job of hiding Undertakers presence before his fateful comeback.
That said, when push came to shove, the guy could go.
The go-home episode ofRawwas meant to have a Cena vs. Michaels non-title rematch, as well as Orton vs.
Edge, but they ran into a snag.
And the madmen did it, having an absolute killer exhibition that would be Cenas best match yet.
Not bad for a last-minute change in plans.
Cena won that years Royal Rumble, meaning thatWrestleManiamain event was written in stone.
Still, they dangled the possibility of an alternative to the viewers by having one last Cena vs.
Punk match for the #1 contender spot.
They even made waves by throwing in a piledriver, which apparently got them in hot water backstage.
The Shield vs.
It was a glorious time with every single one being the match of the night.
Their first match was atExtreme Rules 2014, which was a true contender for the match of the year.
And so, they did a handful of rematches.
The first rematch didnt quite hit the heights ofExtreme Rules, but damn was it a fantastic showcase.
Much of that came with NXT putting in the groundwork with acts like Paige and the Four Horsewomen.
NXT was Triple Hs dog and pony show, and Vince never seemed to pay much attention to it.
To many, graduating from NXT was a career death sentence.
Just look at Bearcat Keith Lee, EC3, or Ember Moon.
Great wrestlers could be great wrestlers and not be punished out of spite and indifference.
The hard-hitting Ring General took it to the best grappler in the company, and they absolutely rocked it.
And thats what this is all about, isnt it?
