5 botches and outrageous moments from WWE Raw (January 22, 2018)

Twenty-five years of Raw. A quarter of a century. That's a respectable accomplishment that rightfully should be celebrated, and WWE did just that. They rolled out a plethora of legends and even ran two separate locations, one being the original location of the show.

There was much ballyhoo and if ratings are the metric you're using to gauge whether or not the show was a hit, then it was a massive success. However, if you actually watched the program (or even was one of the unlucky folks to shell out massive bucks for a seat at the Manhattan Center) then you may not hold as favorable of an opinion.

There was just as many botches and taboo moments from this special episode of Raw that WWE probably wished they could've edited out because such is the nature of the live format.

Moments like the cameraman who was hit with guitar debris, a beachball that interrupted John Cena and Elias, and the interference by Bo Dallas that should've halted a title change. Kudos to Raw for the longevity, but we're still going to lovingly point out these silly highlights.

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#5 Avoiding those middle fingers

Stone Cold Steve Austin physically assaulting the McMahon family harkened back to the best of the Attitude Era. Opening the show with this segment was a fun choice, because what's better than a succession of Stunners followed by a round of Steveweisers?

This may have been a blast but Austin showed how much he contrasted with the current era from the moment he hit the ring. He immediately climbed the ropes, celebrating towards the crowd with both middle fingers high into the air.

The first couple of corners showcased the uncensored hand gesture that pushed the boundaries of PG-programming. By the third and fourth corners, the camera crew wisely made sure his hands were just out of frame.

Although it was a let-down that Steve never spoke into a microphone, it was probably for the best. The censors would've had a hey-day trying to filter out his colorful language.

#4 Bo interfered

This night of Raw was not exactly wrestling-heavy, but Roman Reigns and The Miz did have a decent Intercontinental Championship Match. It resulted in a title change in favor of the A-Lister, although it never should've happened.

One of his buddies interfered, which technically should've been a disqualification.

Bo Dallas held onto the foot of Roman Reigns while he was in the corner in full view of the referee. Even though he put his hands on The Big Dog, the referee opted only to eject The Miztourage from the ringside area.

If Roman really cared, he could argue that the title change was invalid. He probably doesn't though, because WrestleMania is getting closer and he's got a Universal Title to pursue.

#3 Beachball Mania returned

Where's Cesaro when you need him? Originally unbeknownst to the at-home audience, those in attendance at the Barclay's Center brought in a rouge beach ball and were playing with it during the Elias/John Cena segment.

John, a man not afraid of the occasional innuendo, proved to his musical foe that both he and Brooklyn had balls by pointed to the one flying throughout the arena. He paused for a second until a camera showed what he was looking at: a beach ball that was confiscated by security. Cena even grunted in frustration at the fact that the fun was being ruined.

#2 Who is Sister Abigail?

While Woken Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt battled it out inside the Manhattan Center, special guest commentators Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler speculated on the identity of the much talked about Sister Abigail. Was she a real person or merely a fragmented persona inside of Bray's twisted mind?

The way the two discussed this female character, it seemed as if they were unaware that WWE already unveiled the identity of Sister Abigail months ago. Before October's TLC pay-per-view, Wyatt's planned match against Finn Balor took an unexpected turn when it was revealed that Bray was going to compete under the Sister Abigail identity.

Bray was Sister Abigail, even though sudden illness prevented this contest from ever taking place.

To look at Ross' and Lawler's dialogue from a positive vantage point, it appears that they really didn't know about this infamous plot development. And if J.R. and The King live in a world in which that never happened, I want to join them.

#1 In the line of fire

John Cena wasn't the only person to get struck with a guitar on Raw. After breaking his musical instrument off of the back of the man with an advanced education in Thuganomics, Elias discarded what was left of it by tossing it towards the ropes. He paid no attention to whether or not anybody was actually near the ropes and inadvertently his a camera operator.

This didn't look to be anything serious as he didn't appear to be deterred from continuing his duties. Even so, it was still more action than many of the featured stars saw on this night. And considering many current wrestlers were bitter to not get the invite to appear on the show, perhaps they can simply learn to operate a camera for the next big anniversary.

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