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Next Monday's edition of WWE Raw will be a special one as the special Raw 25 takes place from New York City. There are two venues for this special event including the Barclays Center and Manhattan Center (where Raw took place from 1993 to 1997).
The first edition of Monday Night Raw took place on January 11, 1993, from the aforementioned Manhattan Center, and that show included matches with Shawn Michaels, The Steiner Brothers, Yokozuna, and The Undertaker.
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Monday Night Raw, the WWE Universe was able to vote on their favorite moments in Raw history on WWE.com. There was a special on the WWE Network after Raw this week breaking down the top 25, and a collection of the entire top 100 can be viewed on the network as well.
This article will take a look at the results of those 25 great moments in the history of Monday Night Raw. Included in this list were many moments from the Attitude Era, but also many newer moments, including two from 2017.
Continue on to see moments 25 through 11 below...
25. Bubba Ray Dudley powerbombs Mae Young off the stage (March 13, 2000)
24. The Kid defeats Razor Ramon (May 17, 1993)
23. Mr. McMahon reveals Eric Bischoff as the new Raw General Manager (July 15, 2002)
22. Shane McMahon purchases WCW from under Vince's nose (March 26, 2001)
21. Stone Cold Steve Austin ruins Vince's Mike Tyson announcement (January 19, 1998)
20. Mick Foley presents This Is Your Life to The Rock (September 27, 1999)
19. Triple H elopes with a passed out Stephanie McMahon (November 29, 1999)
18. Chris Jericho presents Kevin Owens with the Festival of Friendship (February 13, 2017)
17. Edge announces his retirement (April 11, 2011)
16. Triple H challenges The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania (February 21, 2011)
15. Stone Cold Steve Austin attacks Vince McMahon in the hospital (October 5, 1998)
14. Shane McMahon makes a shocking return to the WWE (February 22, 2016)
13. Jeff Hardy hits a 33-foot Swanton Bomb off the TitanTron to Randy Orton (January 14, 2008)
12. Degeneration X invades WCW (April 27, 1998)
11. Brock Lesnar makes a shocking return to the WWE attacking John Cena (April 2, 2012)
I was surprised to see some of these moments not rated in the top 10 such as This Is Your Life; which was the most-watched segment in WWE history. I was also surprised the famous bedpan shot by Austin to McMahon wasn't ranked higher, as well as the DX invasion of WCW. They were all moments that helped define the Attitude Era.
It was pretty cool to see some of the newer moments rank in the top 25, including the amazing Festival Of Friendship that ended one of the greatest partnerships of the past few years between Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. Another newer return was the shocking return of Shane McMahon to the WWE. Not many of us saw that coming at all.
Next up is the #10 Raw moment as voted on by the WWE Universe.
#10 John Cena comes to Raw as the #1 draft pick (June 6, 2005)
After Vince McMahon purchased WCW in 2001, the roster was as deep as it had ever been, which prompted the first ever brand split in 2002. Every year after that, a draft lottery would be held to shake up the roster, and in 2005, Monday Night Raw had the top pick, and they received the top star of the company.
The WWE Champion, John Cena, would move to Monday Night Raw and briefly leave SmackDown without a world champion until WWE World Champion Batista would be drafted at the end of the night.
While it was a cool moment, and the WWE Universe wasn't chanting "Cena sucks" yet, in no way do I think it deserved to be ranked ahead of the DX Invasion, Steve Austin clocking Vince McMahon with a bedpan, or almost every one of the moments ranked 25 to 11.
#9 Mankind wins the WWE Championship for the first time (January 4, 1999)
As Jim Ross famously proclaimed, "Mrs. Foley's baby boy did it." Mankind would win his first WWE Championship of his career when he defeated The Rock in 1999. The Corporation tried everything in their power to screw Mankind, but DX and Stone Cold Steve Austin evened the odds, and the improbable happened.
Many cite this moment as the one that changed the tide in the Monday Night Wars. Tony Schiavone would give away the result on WCW Monday Nitro (as they did often when Raw was taped), but what they didn't realize is people would turn the channel in droves to witness the moment.
It was truly one of the great moments in Raw and WWE history. The crowd's reaction said it all.
#8 Women main event Raw for the first time as Trish Stratus took on Lita (December 6, 2004)
Trish Stratus and Lita had one of the best rivalries in the history of women's wrestling, and on one night in 2004, they did something that never happened in the history of Monday Night Raw: they were the main event.
Many of the current women in the WWE cite this moment as the true start of the Women's Evolution as it inspired them to become not just the top women in pro wrestling, but the top performers period.
These women pulled out all the stops in this classic match, but it was an impressive moonsault by Lita onto Trish that helped her become WWE Women's Champion for the second time in her career.
#7 Seth Rollins turns on his brothers of The Shield (June 2, 2014)
In 2014, The Shield had a heated feud with a reunited Evolution. The feud culminated in an amazing match at Extreme Rules where The Shield came out on top. The next night on Raw, Triple H and Randy Orton would come to the ring to interrupt The Shield.
Triple H stated that last night was Plan A and tonight was Plan B, and Seth Rollins would take a chair to Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose ending The Shield. It was truly a shocking moment as most expected Ambrose to be the one to turn heel.
The moment was truly monumental as nearly a year later, those of the WWE Universe in attendance would chant "you sold out" every time Rollins would enter the ring.
#6 Roman Reigns claims his yard in front of a rowdy post-WrestleMania crowd (April 3, 2017)
Roman Reigns and The Undertaker closed WrestleMania 33 last year with an epic 23-minute confrontation. Reigns would become only the second person ever to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania (Brock Lesnar the first three years prior).
Undertaker would leave his gear in the ring potentially signifying that he was retiring for good, and that was the last we have seen of him until Raw 25 this Monday.
The night after WrestleMania, Reigns would kick off the show, but for eight minutes, the WWE Universe wouldn't allow him to say a word. During the whole time, Reigns would tease the audience getting them to boo every time he raised the mic before finally saying, "this is my yard now" and leaving the ring.
It was definitely a unique moment in the history of Raw, but in my opinion, not even close to one of the ten best moments over these 25 years.
#5 The first time Stone Cold Steve Austin gave Vince McMahon the Stunner (September 22, 1997)
There is no disputing that the greatest rivalry of all-time in the WWE was Stone Cold Steve Austin against Vince McMahon. The transformation to Stone Cold began at the 1996 King Of The Ring after Austin proclaimed for the first time that "Austin 3:16 just whooped your ass!"
For months, the tension between Austin and McMahon was brewing. Vince was trying to get Austin to work within the system, while Austin was destroying everything in sight.
Security was trying to get Austin out of the ring after attacking Owen Hart, and Vince decided to handle the matter himself and he would get in the ring to try to reason with Austin. The result was the first (of A LOT) of Stone Cold Stunners delivered to Vince.
It was truly a landmark moment because, at the time, Vince was still known as the play-by-play commentator, not the Mr. McMahon he would eventually transform into.
#4 The debut of Jericho and The Rock drinking it in (August 9, 1999)
A very curious Countdown To The Millenium started appearing on Monday Night Raw. In 671 hours (or roughly a month), the countdown would end.
At the time, The Rock was feuding with Undertaker and The Big Show, and was in the ring to call them out when the clock appeared with just seconds left on it. A video package aired and pyro exploded, introducing Chris Jericho to the WWE.
Jericho would do a lot of the talking before The Rock would shut him down. It definitely ranks up there as one of the best moments in Raw history, and probably the greatest debut in the history of the company as well.
#3 Occupy Raw (March 10, 2014)
The WWE Universe voiced their displeasure of Batista winning the Royal Rumble in 2014. He was scheduled to face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXX, but a movement began to change that main event.
At SummerSlam the previous August, Daniel Bryan was screwed out of the WWE Championship when The Authority was created and Triple H helped Randy Orton cash in Money In The Bank.
For months, Bryan was trying to get back at Triple H and finally did when dozens of the WWE Universe joined him in the ring to occupy Raw. Bryan demanded Triple H at WrestleMania, and if he won, he would be inserted in the main event.
It was truly one of the greatest visuals in the history of Monday Night Raw.
#2 CM Punk drops the pipebomb (June 27, 2011)
CM Punk was getting frustrated with his role in the company and with his contract expiring soon, Vince McMahon would do Punk a favor and give him a live mic to say anything he wanted.
The words that followed would reverberate throughout the entire WWE Universe. They ranged from calling John Cena a corporate kiss ass, to stating that once Vince McMahon dies, nothing will change as the company will be controlled by his daughter and "doofus son-in-law."
After the pipebomb, Punk would face Cena at Money In The Bank for the WWE Championship where Punk won and left the company with the title. They spectacularly played off the storyline that Punk did leave, but in reality, he signed an extension and made a surprising return in July.
#1 Stone Cold Steve Austin brings a beer truck to the ring (March 22, 1999)
On the heels of WrestleMania XV, The Corporation led by The Rock and Vince McMahon were feuding with Stone Cold Steve Austin; which led to a WWE Championship match at Mania.
This was final Raw before WrestleMania XV and The Corporation were in the ring when the glass broke. It wasn't Austin coming down to the ring with his trademark badass walk, it was Austin driving a Coors Light truck!
Austin drove the truck through the normal entrance and nearly took down the TitanTron as a result of his entrance. He would park the truck next to the ring, pull out a hose, and proceed to completely soak The Corporation in beer in what was truly one of the most iconic moments in Raw history.
