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The highly anticipated 25th-anniversary show of Monday Night Raw took place at the Manhattan Center and Barclay's centre in New York. With the eyes of the WWE Universe firmly fixed on them, the WWE managed to put on a decent show.
The show saw many legends and former superstars return to the milestone episode of Raw and it was great to see the faces which we haven't seen in a while. The fans were treated to some nostalgic moments as the legendary superstars of the past made their return to Raw for one night.
However, when we speak about returns, a lot of names comes to our minds and let's look into 5 of those former superstars who the WWE should've brought back for the 25th-anniversary episode of Raw.
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#5 Edge
WWE missed a big opportunity by not bringing back the ultimate opportunist for the 25th-anniversary show of Raw. The presence of the 11 time WWE Champion would've been an added advantage to what was already a star-studded show.
Edge was a part of many entertaining segments in the history of Monday Night Raw and he has indeed left an everlasting impression as one of the greatest performers to have ever stepped into the WWE. Who can forget Edge's live celebration on Raw with Lita which earned Raw a 5.2 rating, the highest rating the show had received at the time in over a year.
His best friend Christian was a part of Raw as he hosted "The Peep Show" which featured Jason Jordan and Seth Rollins. It would've been more interesting if E&C reunited at the show and did the 5-second pose for the benefit of those with flash photography.
#4 Lita
If we speak about Edge and his legendary segments on Raw, it would not be complete without Lita.
It was great when WWE introduced some of the greatest women-superstars in Raw history during the anniversary show. We saw the Bella Twins, Maryse, Michelle McCool and Trish Stratus to name a few. But when we're talking about the greatest women-wrestlers in Raw history, it would be a sin not to mention Lita as one among those greats.
The fans were quizzed on why Lita was not present on the show and it looks like she wasn't even invited to be on the historic episode of Raw.
It's nothing but a shame that WWE did not even invite Lita to the 25th-anniversary of Raw. Even if she was not featured alongside the other female WWE legends, we the fans know that she is indeed one of the all-time greats.
#3 Goldberg
Goldberg created shock-waves when he made his return to the WWE after 12 long years, in 2016. After a brief run, Goldberg once again bid farewell to the WWE Universe on the April 3 episode of Raw.
Nevertheless, he did not rule out the possibility of a future return as he quoted that we will never know that what or who's next. It seems we do know what's next for him as WWE announced earlier this month that Goldberg would be the first inductee into the 2018 class of the WWE Hall of Fame.
While it was earlier reported that WWE was in talks with Goldberg for making an appearance at the anniversary show, it is still unclear on why he did not show up. It would've been breathtaking if Goldberg walked into the Manhattan center and addressed the crowd on his Hall of Fame induction.
#2 The Rock
What's the point of celebrating the 25th anniversary of Raw when they can't bring back one the greatest superstars who have made the show into what it is today?
The Brahma Bull has been a part of many of the greatest moments in the history of Monday Night Raw. Who can forget the "This is Your Life" segment which gained the highest ratings ever for a segment on Raw at the time.
A rock concert or a people's strudel or just a simple appearance would've been an entertaining segment for the fans in attendance and for those who were watching all over the world.
#1 CM Punk
Ever since Punk walked out of the WWE in 2014, the fans were clamouring to see the second city saint return to the squared circle once again.
Even after his departure from the company, we can still hear the fans chant his name on the shows, especially in Chicago. CM Punk is undeniably the best superstar of the WWE's PG Era. The WWE higher-ups themselves acknowledge this as we saw Punk's pipe bomb promo get the 2nd spot in the WWE's pick of the 25 greatest moments in Raw history.
After his departure from the WWE, Punk tried his luck in the octagon to no avail as he suffered a quick defeat against Mickey Gall at UFC 203. Since then, speculations of him returning to the WWE were going on high but it hasn't come to fruition until now.
The 25th-Anniversary show of Raw would've been the perfect opportunity for the WWE to bring back the straight edge superstar. But the opportunity was missed and we will have to wait to find out how long would it take for Punk to make his return to the WWE.
But for now, we can only hope the highly anticipated return happens this Sunday at the 2018 Royal Rumble.
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