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Monday Night RAW is one of the oldest weekly episodic shows run by the WWE. Last year, the flagship show of the company celebrated its 25th anniversary, and the show has witnessed several eras in the WWE.
RAW has been home to the Attitude Era, the PG Era and also the New Era, which was started by Stephanie McMahon and Shane McMahon by splitting the WWE roster into two.
SmackDown started airing live on TV on Tuesdays while RAW retained its same format of airing a 3 hour show on Monday nights. Mick Foley was the General Manager of RAW in July, 2016 while Stephanie McMahon was the Commissioner of the red brand.
In this article, we will have a look at the current position of the entire RAW roster of July 2016. I have already covered the roster of SmackDown Live's current position.
Also Read - The roster on the first episode of Smackdown Live: Where are they now?
So, without further ado, let's start.
Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley kicked off the Monday Night RAW's new era by making the historic announcement of the Universal Championship. The Billion Dollar Princess was the Commissioner of RAW back then and she still is involved in the Authority angle on RAW as she continues to dominate the roster with her mic skills.
Mick Foley
Mick Foley was announced as a surprise General Manager of RAW as very few fans expected him to take up the Authority position on Monday Nights. However, Foley was soon fired from his job due to his differences with Stephanie McMahon.
The legend is still with the WWE, making appearances for the company on special occasions. Foley even guest refereed the Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman at HIAC 2018.
Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins was a heel in July 2016 and was still Stephanie McMahon and Triple H's puppet. Being the Authority's guy, Rollins was directly inserted into the Universal Championship match scheduled to take place at SummerSlam that year.
The Architect has now turned into the Kingslayer as Rollins has transformed himself from the top heel to the top babyface of the WWE entering 2019.
Finn Balor
The New Era of RAW kicked off with a fatal 4 way match between Finn Balor, Rusev, Cesaro and Kevin Owens, with the winner advancing to the night's main event. Finn Balor made his in-ring debut on RAW and even emerged victorious from the match.
Balor went to win the become the first Universal Champion as well but had to relinquish the title due to an unfortunate injury. Currently, Finn Balor is still performing on Monday Night RAW but the leader of Balor Club is no longer the dangerous superstar that he seemed on his first night on RAW.
Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens was a part of the first fatal 4 way match on RAW, but the Prizefighter failed to win that match and soon was involved in a rivalry with Enzo and Cass on RAW.
Owens became the 2nd Universal Champion of RAW after Balor relinquished the title, and KO had one of the best runs with the title. He then became a part of Smackdown Live in 2017 before returning to RAW in 2018. The former Universal Champion is currently nursing an injury and will soon make his return to WWE TV.
Cesaro
The Swiss Cyborg was a popular babyface superstar in 2016 but after a few months of competing in a tag team with Sheamus called The Bar, Cesaro turned heel, and the European duo quickly became the top tag team in the WWE.
Cesaro and Sheamus are currently the tag team champions on the blue brand.
Rusev
Rusev was the heel Bulgarian Brute who portrayed the role of an anti-American, holding the United States Championship on WWE TV in 2016. However, things have changed a lot for Rusev in the past 2 and a half years as he is currently one of the most popular stars amongst the WWE Universe.
The babyface superstar currently holds the United States Championship on SmackDown Live.
Nia Jax
Nia Jax made her main roster debut on RAW against a local athlete as the Creative team tried to establish her as the Irresistible Force of the Women's Division.
3 years later, we can say that the Creative team has been successful in building Nia Jax as the force they wanted to be as she is one of the top female heels of the company currently.
Sheamus
The second fatal 4-way match of the night saw Sheamus, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn collide in order to face Finn Balor in the main event of RAW. The Celtic Warrior dominated in that match but failed to progress to the night's main event.
Sheamus later feuded with Cesaro, which led to the two forming a tag team and the rest, as they say, is history. The Irish superstar is currently holding the Tag Team Championship on SmackDown with the Swiss Cyborg.
Chris Jericho
Back then in 2016, Chris Jericho was the best thing on WWE TV, as the GOAT made RAW the best show on the planet with his mic skills and in-ring work. Jericho's last WWE appearance was at the Greatest Royal Rumble match, where he entered at #50.
In 2019, Chris Jericho is no longer a WWE superstar as he has now become a part of New Japan Pro Wrestling and it is being rumored that he may well be a part of All Elite Wrestling soon.
Sami Zayn
The Canadian superstar Sami Zayn can be hailed as one of the underachievers in the WWE as he is yet to win his first title on the main roster despite being one of the best in the ring. Zayn had turned heel in 2017 during his feud with Shane McMahon on SD Live.
He was sent back to RAW in 2018, where he got injured while feuding with Bobby Lashley.
Roman Reigns
The Big Dog Roman Reigns was the prime superstar of WWE back then as he was the Golden Boy of Vince McMahon. He won the fatal 4 way but failed to defeat Finn Balor in the night's main event.
Roman Reigns is currently out of the WWE as he was diagnosed with leukemia in October 2018 and also had to relinquish his Universal title midway during his reign.
Curtis Axel
Curtis Axel was the last draft pick in the WWE Draft of 2016 and so the Axeman was labeled as 'Mr. Irrelevant' on RAW. In his match against Neville, Axel proved why he was the last draft pick as he was put away by the Britishman in mere minutes.
Axel is currently involved in a tag team angle with Bo Dallas as the B-Team are an integral part of the RAW tag team division.
Neville
One of the most gifted wrestlers on the planet, Neville was a face superstar on RAW in 2016 but he soon turned heel and became the King of Cruiserweights. However, he was not satisfied with his gimmick and thus parted ways with the WWE.
Currently, he is wrestling under the name PAC and is a part of the Over the Top Wrestling where he will be seen battling with the OTT Champion Walter (one of WWE's newest signees) on 17th February 2019.
The New Day
Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston were on their way to break the record of the longest reigning tag team champions in WWE during the start of the New Era. They were involved in a rivalry with the Club during that time.
In 2019, the New Day are still one of the top tag teams of the WWE and the trio of the Unicorns are a part of the Smackdown roster.
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
2016 was the year when Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson made their WWE debut, and the Good Brothers were expected to become the best tag team in the WWE, but things did not turn out to be as expected.
In 2019, Gallows and Anderson are nowhere near the top as the Good Brothers are floundering in the SmackDown tag team division.
Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks had become one of the most loved superstars in the women's division and this forced the WWE to push the Boss to the top. Banks battled Charlotte in a RAW Women's Championship match and shockingly the Boss came out on top to win her first title on RAW.
Banks and Charlotte had an epic rivalry after that but unfortunately that was the last time we saw Sasha in a main event feud as she has been lost in the mix on RAW of late.
Charlotte
The Nature Girl did not have the start that she would have wished for in the New Era as Charlotte's title reign came to an end on the show.
But, Charlotte Flair has since evolved as a performer and she has held titles both on RAW as well as SmackDown multiple times. Currently, she is involved in a feud with Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch in the WWE.
Dana Brooke
The muscular Dana Brooke was the on-screen protege of Charlotte on RAW during the year 2016. She then became the statistician of Titus Worldwide in 2017 before returning to the singles division in 2018.
Dana Brooke is a part of the undercard of the women's division and is used by WWE in battle royals and random tag team matches.
Bob Backlund and Darren Young
Ahead of the brand split in 2016, Darren Young was paired with Bob Backlund in order to make the former Prime Time Player great again. The duo failed completely as Young could not become great again and was soon released by the company.
Young has been working in the indies and has expressed his desire to return to WWE or join ROH or NJPW in the near future. Meanwhile, Bob Backlund is still associated with Vince McMahon's company and listed in the alumni section of their website.
R-Truth
R-Truth was a part of a comic angle with Goldust during 2016 as the Golden Truth tried to dominate the tag team division. They were soon disintegrated and R Truth found himself to be a part of the blue brand where he aligned himself with Carmella.
Truth and Carmella recently won the WWE Mixed Match Challenge and will enter the 2019 Royal Rumble match at #30, along with an all-expense-paid trip to WWE headquarters.
Goldust
Goldust is one of the few superstars from the Attitude Era who is still active in the ring. The Bizarre One has made random appearances on WWE TV with his last notable appearance being his match against John Cena on a RAW episode ahead of WrestleMania 34.
Goldust may soon retire from in-ring competition and we can expect the WWE to book him in a farewell storyline soon.
James Ellsworth
The Chinless Wonder James Ellsworth made his WWE debut on the first episode of the New Era, and no one knew that he would go on to become a WWE superstar in the coming months. His pre-match promo where he said that "any man with 2 hands has a fighting chance" made him famous, and he soon debuted on Smackdown as well.
James has been fired twice from the WWE and he has been working in the indies currently.
Braun Strowman
The Monster Amongst Men Braun Strowman appeared on RAW with a new look as he had a new haircut and looked more dangerous than ever. Strowman toyed with Ellsworth on that episode and later on went to become the biggest babyface superstar of the roster.
Despite his strength and physique, the Monster has failed to win the WWE Universal Championship. However, he hopes to win the title at the Royal Rumble PPV later this January.
The Shining Stars
Primo and Epico have been performing in the WWE for a long, long time, yet the duo have failed to make it big. The Shining Stars were the brand ambassadors of Puerto Rico in July 2016 and their gimmick was dropped soon as they were repackaged as the Colons on SmackDown Live in 2017.
The Colons make frequent appearances at WWE Live Events but are not used on TV much.
Enzo and Big Cass
Enzo and Big Cass were the most popular tag team in the WWE in 2016, but poor booking decisions from the Creative team led to the team's burial. They soon parted ways in 2017 as Big Cass turned on his partner.
Both Enzo and Cass went on to have controversial careers in the WWE as Enzo became a 2-time Cruiserweight champion much to the dismay of the fans while Big Cass was released due to his tendency to go off-script on WWE TV.
