The 5 Most Emotional Episodes of Raw in WWE History

#1 Raw Is Owen

Owen Hart in action

The wrestling business is one that has sadly been filled with tragedy over the decades, but the passing of Owen Hart is something that still hurts to this day for so many.

Owen tragically passed away on May 23, 1999, during the Over the Edge PPV, and the following night’s Raw episode was a tribute show that became dubbed ‘Raw is Owen’. It was a hard watch, drenched in sadness, but the one silver lining of the episode was getting to hear just how special a person Owen was viewed as by his colleagues and friends.

For many wrestling fans, this may well have been one of the first times where such a tragic event was laid bare in front of them on their TV screens. From the moment the show opened to the moment it ended, there was nothing but love for Owen Hart, and it was absolutely devastating to have to listen to wrestlers and commentators breaking down at the realisation of what had happened to their friend.

Raw is Owen is as emotional as emotional gets, with the show putting a spotlight on a real-life tragedy that hit hard to wrestlers, WWE staff, and fans. This is arguably the first time, in a mainstream sense at least, that the WWE had let their audience see their talent as real people without the façade of a professional wrestling character being the desired narrative. And to this day, those who appeared on Raw is Owen still talk about the great person that he was.