Mother Brain’s Top 5 Monday Night Raw Moments
By Mother Brain
With so many Raw moments and matches to name, only these 5 remain etched in my mind:
5. Nexus Debut (2010)
What began as another abysmal Raw turned into the most shocking final 5 minutes I’ve ever witnessed. I remember being so bored watching John Cena face CM Punk thinking it was gonna be another squash match when I turned off the TV. Then minutes later, my dad calls to tell me that several guys jumped the ring and attacked Cena. The way he described it to me sounded unscripted. I raced back to my TV set as I witness all the NXT guys destroying the ring and everyone in sight. I remember being so happy to see Daniel Bryan spit in Cena’s face and kick him over the head. It was like every wrestling mark’s dream. Too bad they never maintained the momentum after that chilling debut.
4. Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels Heal Old Wounds (2010)
Like every fan of the Hitman, I waited 12 years to see what would happen when Bret Hart stepped back into a WWE ring. Was he ready to let bygones be bygones as far as HBK was concerned? The 1997 Montreal Screwjob was so dramatic that it changed the lives of everyone involved with Bret refusing to make amends with the company for such a tragic exit to their top star. On that very night when the two men came face to face since that terrible day, I got chills. In the end, it was a genuine moment between two men who went to hell and back only to find the light at the end of the tunnel.
3. Stone Cold/Mike Tyson Confrontation (1998)
At a time when WWE was losing the ratings war with WCW, the idea of having Mike Tyson step into the WWE ‘Universe’ seemed like a desperate attempt at turning the tide. I can’t say I was surprised when Stone Cold Steve Austin came in the ring and got straight into Tyson’s face; however, it was the realism of the officials and Tyson’s security scrambling to break it up that had my eyes glued to the TV. It was the shove heard around the world and a major turning point for the WWE.
2. Brian Pillman Gun Incident (1996)
Vince McMahon used to say, “Anything can happen in the WWF/E.†Yet, this is a Raw moment rarely, if ever mentioned these days because of the PG era we’re in. Pillman had already come into the company broken down from injuries and having his share of mental issues at the end of his WCW run. He was immediately put into a small angle with Stone Cold where he was beaten to a pulp in the ring for supporting Bret Hart. It was following week on Raw when Pillman and his wife did a sit down interview in his home. Knowing that Austin was going to break in, he whips out a gun and threatens to shoot him if he steps inside. After Austin attacks security outside the house and breaks in, we see him at gunpoint by Pillman before the feed goes out. While this angle didn’t turn ratings around, the violent intensity and foul language on Pillman’s part was a clear sign of WWE’s transition from kid-friendly entertainment to ATTITUDE.
1. Stone Cold Steve Austin stuns Vince McMahon at MSG (1997)
Until this time, Vince McMahon was just a simple color commentator despite the knowledge of his ownership of WWE. He was rarely attacked or even touched by a wrestler on camera. Now the WWE was getting grittier and Stone Cold Steve Austin was becoming the poster boy. At the time, he was still stinging from the neck injury he suffered at the hands of the late Owen Hart at Summerslam. While he didn’t wrestle, Austin made his presence known by attacking other wrestlers and officials. Finally one night at Madison Square Garden, Vince had enough and confronted Austin to make him stop for the sake of his well being. The response: A Stone Cold Stunner on the owner of the company! The attack looked so legit, Vince twitched his neck to sell the impact of the Stunner. This particular night marked the beginning of the Austin/McMahon feud which brought up ratings and won over new fans for years to come.