The longest-running weekly television show in the United States, Monday Night Raw premiered on January 11, 1993, and continues to delight fans every Monday.
With the first episodes recorded taking place in the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Center, a small theatre in New York City, Raw has now been broadcast from 208 arenas in 171 locations in eleven countries.
While the show is more likely to promote the pay-per-views that follow than to host spectacular matches, there has also been room for electrifying duels over the course of Raw’s 30 years.
Monday Night Raw (July 19, 1993)
WWF Intercontinental Championship :
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Marty Jannetty
Looking to assert himself individually after betraying former teammate Marty Jannetty, Shawn Michaels has become an arrogant, metrosexual villain. Although he failed to win the world title against Randy Savage at the UK Rampage in April 1992 and against Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1992, HBK won the intercontinental title after beating The British Bulldog at Saturday Night’s Main Event XXXI in November, and kept it until May 1993, when he lost to Marty Jannetty. However, he won it again the following month with the help of his bodyguard Diesel and on July 19, 1993, he defended it to Jannetty during Monday Night Raw.
Monday Night Raw (July 11, 1994)
WWF World Heavyweight Championship :
Bret Hart (c) vs. The 1-2-3 Kid
At WrestleMania X, Bret Hart won the title by defeating Yokozuna in the main event and in the months that followed he was involved in feuds with his brother Owen, who had defeated him at WrestleMania , and with Diesel. However, on the June 20 Monday Night Raw there was a match between The 1–2–3 Kid and Nikolai Volkoff to determine who would face the “ Hitman ” for the title on the July 11 episode. And who surprisingly took the win was The 1–2–3 Kid, who habitually fought in the tag team division , although he was a fan favorite.
Monday Night Raw (March 3, 1997)
WWF European Championship:
The British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart
Established in early 1997, the WWF European Championship established its first champion through a tournament that took place over several events in Germany.
For the final, recorded in Berlin on February 26, but broadcast only on March 3, The British Bulldog qualified, who eliminated Mankind and Vader, and Owen Hart, who eliminated Flash Funk and Bret Hart. And to spice things up even more, the two finalists were brothers-in-law and the holders of the tag team titles.
Raw Is War (May 26, 1997)
WWF World Tag Team Championship:
Owen Hart and The British Bulldog (c) vs. Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin
Champions since September of the previous year, brothers-in-law Owen Hart and British Bulldog not only put their differences aside – at a time when both were fighting for the WWF European Championship – but also joined Bret Hart , Jim Neidhart and Brian Pillman to reformulate the group The Hart Foundation.
However, on May 26, 1997, Raw is War the champions had two strong opponents. Although they did not exactly form a cohesive team, Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels had something in common: they hated Bret Hart.
In the case of Shawn Michaels, who was back in action after a knee injury, the feud with Bret Hart had been going on for several years, having both starred in a high number of matches for the Intercontinental Championship and the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. However, the tension between the two extended to real life. Steve Austin was also leading a hot feud with Bret Hart, having both fought in intense matches at Survivor Series 1996, In Your House 13: Final Four, WrestleMania 13 and In Your House 14: Revenge of the ‘Taker, in addition to having discussed winning the Royal Rumble match in 1997.
Raw Is War (May 21, 2001)
WWF World Tag Team Championship :
The Two-Man Power Trip (Steve Austin and Triple H ) (c)
vs. Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho
At WrestleMania X-Seven, Steve Austin won the WWF Championship with the help of Vince McMahon. The following night on Raw is War, Triple H demanded to know why his father-in-law helped old foe Stone Cold but also ended up helping Austin beat The Rock in a Steel Cage match.
Meanwhile, Austin began to reveal his more violent side, attacking almost everyone he came across, and allied himself with Triple H. At a time when Stone Cold was WWF Champion and The Game Intercontinental Champion, both won tag team titles together.by beating the Brothers of Destruction at Backlash.
Meanwhile, a tag team turmoil match was scheduled for Judgment Day to determine the top contenders for the WWF Tag Team Championship, with the team of former rivals Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit winning, eliminating Edge and Christian in last place. And Jericho and Benoit ended up being given the opportunity to fight for the title on Raw the following night.
Raw Is War (June 11, 2001)
Steel Cage Match: Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit
Considered one of the rivalries that yielded the best matches in WWE history. After Kurt Angle lost the WWF Championship to The Rock at the No Way Out pay-per-view, he collided with Chris Benoit, which culminated in a duel between the two at WrestleMania X-Seven, with Angle getting the better of win through a quick roll-up. Four weeks later at Backlash, Benoit avenged his previous PPV loss and beat Angle 4–3 after extra time in a 30-minute Ultimate Submission match.
Meanwhile, Benoit stole the medals from Kurt Angle and announced that he was going to store them in a safe, warm place, which turned out to be inside his pants, near his groin. On SmackDown! that followed, Angle faced Benoit and halfway through the match he regained his medals, but when he went to kiss them he smelled Benoit’s groin, who in turn used a Crippler Crossface that made Angle give up.
On the following episode of Raw Is War , Angle challenged Benoit to a best-of-three match for Judgment Day in which the first fall could only end by pinfall , the second by submission, and the third would be played in a Ladder match.
Benoit won the first fall after landing an Angle Slam , but Angle won the second by making his opponent fold through an Ankle Lock and ended up winning the third fall after interference from Edge and Christian, capturing his Olympic gold medal to win. the combat. And to definitively end the feud between the two, Raw Commissioner William Regal scheduled a Steel Cage match between Benoit and Angle on the June 11 episode of Raw Is War.
Monday Night Raw (May 2, 2005)
Gold Rush Tournament Quarter Finals:
Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin
The day after Batista retained the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash by defeating Triple H , Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff announced the holding of the Gold Rush tournament to determine the title contender. Christian vs. Kane, Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels, Edge vs. Chris Jericho and Triple H vs. Chris Benoit were the matches scheduled for the first round of the tournament, to be played on Monday Night Raw after Backlash, on May 2.
Monday Night Raw (April 23, 2007)
Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena
After Undertaker won the 2007 Royal Rumble match and decided to face Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 23, Shawn Michaels beat Randy Orton and Edge in a triple threat match to become the leading contender for the WWE Championship , held by John Cena. Despite having a duel scheduled for the biggest event of the year, Michaels and Cena showed respect for each other, with HBK saving Cena from an attack by Edge .and Orton using chairs.
This led Orton to show a video showing all of Shawn Michaels ‘ betrayals to friends, although HBK assured that, with Cena , it would be different, even because, in the meantime, both had become tag team world champions . However, on the final episode of Raw before WrestleMania 23, Michaels betrayed Cena by giving him a Sweet Chin Music during a tag team match against Batista and Undertaker.
Still, John Cena retained the belt at WrestleMania by making Michaels withdraw via an STF. The night after the pay-per-view , on Monday Night Raw , Michaels betrayed Cena during a battle royal with the tag team titles on the line, thus allowing the Hardys to become champions.
A week later, Michaels and Orton faced each other in a match to determine the main contender for the WWE Championship , but the match ended in a double pinfall .. That same night, Edge asked Raw General Manager Jonathan Coachman to name him the lead candidate. Backlash was later scheduled for a title match involving Cena , Orton , Edge and Michaels , but on the episode of Raw before the pay-per-view in London, Cena and Michaels clashed again.
Monday Night Raw (February 25, 2013)
John Cena vs. CM Punk
At the Royal Rumble, John Cena won the Royal Rumble match for the second time in his career by eliminating Ryback last, while CM Punk lost the WWE Championship to The Rock. At the next PPV, Elimination Chamber, CM Punk failed to win the WWE Championship, losing to The Rock, who would defend the title against John Cena in a rematch of the previous year’s WrestleMania XXVIII match, which The Rock got the best.
The night after the pay-per-view, John Cena was about to step into the ring to confront The Rock when he was attacked by CM Punk ., who still felt he was the leading contender for the WWE Championship. Therefore, a match between Cena and CM Punk was scheduled for the following episode of Monday Night Raw, to determine which of the two would face The Rock at WrestleMania 29.
Monday Night Raw (March 3, 2014)
The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins ) vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper)
It all started in a qualifying match for the Elimination Chamber match of the 2014 Elimination Chamber in which Randy Orton’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship would be at stake, between the three elements of The Shield and the team of John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Sheamus. During this feud, The Wyatt Family interfered, causing The Shield to be disqualified and Bryan, Cena, and Sheamus qualified for the Elimination Chamber match. In retaliation, The Shield demanded to face the Wyatt Family at Elimination Chamber,
having the Wyatt Family win on pay-per-view after Bray Wyatt’s Sister Abigail at Roman Reigns. On the following night’s episode of Raw, Bray Wyatt beat Roman Reigns by disqualification after interference from Dean Ambrose, which led to a brawl between the two factions at the end of the match. Against this backdrop, another match was scheduled between The Shield and Wyatt Family for the following week.
