5 things that could’ve made WWE Raw 25 better

The 25th-anniversary celebration of Monday Night Raw has been and gone, with many fans feeling conflicted when deciding whether or not it was actually a success. WWE had been promoting this night for the better part of six months, and because of that, the expectations among the WWE Universe were extremely high.

We had big returns and some decent wrestling action sprinkled in between, but when the show went off the air, we were left to wonder what could’ve been. Sure, turning the event into a nostalgia trip was one of the only cards they were able to play, but at times it felt like they didn’t know how to manage what they had in front of them.

That’s not to say that it wasn’t enjoyable because it was certainly better than your average episode of Raw, but improvements definitely could’ve been made.

With that being said, here are five things that could’ve made WWE Raw 25 better.

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#5 More Manhattan Center

The fans were not happy in Manhattan

We’ll kick things off with what is arguably one of the biggest points of them all – the mismanagement of the Manhattan Center. We all knew that it was going to be a challenge for WWE to put on an event that was broadcast from two different arenas, but the fans in attendance weren’t really given their money’s worth.

Aside from some appearances by Wyatt, Hardy, Taker and DX they didn’t have much to shout about throughout the evening, and they were left to sit and watch as the majority of the action took place at the Barclays Center. It’s no secret that fans were chanting “we want refunds” as they left the building, and it’s something that the company is probably going to have to answer for.

#4 Women’s Segment

Could WWE have done more?

This segment was so brief that there’s a chance you may have missed it, with some fans even claiming that it matched up to the length of an average divas match back in the day. If you didn’t see it, essentially the female legends of years gone by were paraded in front of the Barclays crowd in order to get five seconds worth of cheap pops.

It felt a little bit off when you consider just how much these women did for the business, and while it was nice to see them, there just wasn’t enough time to do something special. We would rather have seen them being spread out across both venues, with some popping up as a surprise in a similar fashion to Stone Cold at the start of the night.

#3 DX Diversity

This segment wasn't 'too sweet'

D-Generation X played a huge role in the success of Monday Night Raw back in the 90s, with some of their stunts being a big reason why WWE managed to defeat WCW in the Monday Night Wars. With that being said, they didn’t actually do anything of note last night when they made their paint-by-numbers appearance in NYC.

It felt extremely similar to their Raw 1000 appearance, and it actually would’ve been nice to see them get a little bit more physical. Yes, they almost succeeded in burying The Revival, but it would’ve been much more interesting if Balor Club had taken it upon themselves to make a statement at the expense of the legends.

Are we asking for too much here?

#2 Less Wrestling

Save it for the Rumble

This is going to sound a little bit odd considering that it’s a WRESTLING show, but Raw 25 was clearly never going to be about the in-ring product. Everyone was waiting to see some of their favourites pop up from years gone by, which made the multi-woman tag match and some of the other bouts feel extremely pointless.

Fans were clearly frustrated by these obvious attempts to waste time, and while we’re at it, we’d also like to suggest that they probably should’ve done this show a week prior. Why? Because the Royal Rumble match is less than a week away now, and this was supposed to be the go-home show.

We got some progression in the Universal title picture, but aside from that, they failed to build the excitement for Sunday’s showcase.

#1 Taker Clarity

Will The Phenom compete at the Superdome?

It was great to see The Undertaker for the first time since WrestleMania 33, with WWE showing some continuity by having him not come out with his gloves or hat on which he left in the middle of the ring back in Orlando. Aside from that small piece of storytelling, however, his appearance had absolutely no relevance whatsoever.

Not only did he not address whether or not he’d be retiring, but he also didn’t say anything of note. Sure, he paid tribute to Raw as a show and the last 25 years of his career, but it’s nothing we haven’t heard before. The Deadman has been criticised for not doing all that much whenever he comes back, and this certainly fell into that category.

At the very least, we wanted to know whether or not he’d be in New Orleans.