Original subtitles

You know that feeling we all get when WWE is totally awesome?

Ooh, yeah!

That feeling of fun, nostalgia, the memories that made you a lifelong fan.

Like the most awesome moment in Raw history.

Welcome, everyone, to Monday Night Raw!

Home to unforgettable matches.

Mankind has achieved its dream!

Pure mayhem.

unadulterated fun.

And the most utterly shocking events.

We fans have tuned in for over three decades.

The longest running weekly episodic television show in history.

To celebrate the game changers. And the history makers.

That bring us to our feet.

To chant in unison, this is awesome.

What's

up, everybody?

Welcome to another episode of This is Awesome.

The only show.

that celebrates the most awesome everything.

Then, now, forever, and together.

I'm your host, Greg Miller, at GameOverGreggy on Twitter and Instagram.

again, I'm repping Kinda Funny's new dig, this bare bedroom, ladies and

gentlemen. Go ahead and clap for my company.

Anyway, so, more importantly, I had the good fortune to attend the 36th annual

Royal Rumble last month.

In San Antonio. And when they say everything is bigger in Texas, they mean

So many awesome moments.

However, there was one that wasn't awesome. And it was when my Twitter

JBL, showed up to what was supposed to be his heartfelt apology to

me.

I think you and I, Greg Miller, if that is indeed your real name, are going to

be friends.

So close your eyes, close your eyes, close your eyes. Oh, man.

I'm so happy to be here on your show. Yeah, yeah.

Have a good day.

And to that, I'll just say this ain't over, JBL.

Not by a long shot.

But let's get back on track.

Today, WWE Universe on the heels of Raw's 30th anniversary.

Yes. Can you believe it? 30 years. We are celebrating the most awesome Raw

moments of all time. Take it away.

Ladies and gentlemen, the longest running weekly episodic television show

history. This is Monday Night Raw.

How is Raw 30 years old?

This is crazy.

30 years? 30 years?

Marriages don't last that long.

We're all just so used to live, weekly pro wrestling on your TV screen, but it

wasn't always like that.

30 years ago, we're coming off of primetime wrestling and discussions of

going on in WWE.

Monday Night Raw at the time became a place that you knew you could tune in

every single week and see the top superstars in action. Oh, yeah!

The early Raw is what I remember as the Manhattan Center. It was small, but the

atmosphere there was just electrifying.

The sirens, the fact that it was at night and not Saturday morning or

afternoon or weekend wrestling, that was all out the window. The idea that you

were going to come out live every single Monday night was something that was

never done before.

Anything could happen. That was the whole idea of Raw.

There are no mistakes.

Over the last 30 years, Raw has had some incredible moments.

Oh my God!

It's milk!

It's milk!

Milkomania is running wild!

You're guaranteed to see some action every single time you turn it on.

I said it all, Seth! I said it all, Seth!

Monday Night Raw is something that, as a kid, I really lived for.

I'm waiting on the arrival of the puppies right here!

It gave me a couple hours where I could forget about everything else that was

going on in my life and just get lost in this wacky world of sports

entertainment.

Musical chairs!

Where are the little nuts?

Booker, the force is strong with you.

I don't know that anybody knew that it would grow to have the popularity it has

today. Monday Night Raw, it's so huge, it's so brilliant, that even the biggest

celebrities want to be a part of WWE.

Hugh Jackman, you've got to be kidding me!

I'm going to have to take you over my knee.

Sometimes it's a little upsetting as a fan.

Mrs. Jackman!

Sometimes you think you can predict what's going to happen next or where a

is going, and it goes the complete opposite way.

It's me, Austin!

The Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania is always fun because something special

is going to happen.

Ziggler's cashed into the contract!

We got a new world champion!

Raw is that thing that brings us all together.

You want to bury the hatchet? Let's bury it right now.

It's just a mess of everything.

Just because we're partners.

Yeah, I bet.

Sacramento, I won't stay.

But I'll be sure to come back when the Lakers beat the Kings in May.

Monday Night Raw is the flagship, man.

Everyone that comes along in this bid wants to walk out on that stage on

night. and be on Raw. It means everything. It has meant everything to

video. Three decades on television and do it the way we do it on Monday Night

Raw.

Oh! Oh my God!

It's insane.

Yes! Yes!

Yes! If you're a wrestling fan, there's some level of comfort in knowing that

every single Monday night there's going to be a wrestling show on air. And it's

like an old reliable friend that you can always look to.

Yowie!

casting it in. We have a new champion. Roman Reigns is on top of the mountain.

You've got to be kidding me. Oh, my God.

There is a revolution happening.

I want to thank you for the memory.

The spirit of Ultimate Warrior will run forever.

What does it take for a show like this to be going this strong for this long?

We love this, all of us. Everyone before us, everyone currently here, and

everyone that will come after us will love this.

Simple. Can you believe it's been 30 years?

Happy anniversary to Monday Night Raw.

And here's to another 30 years of memory.

Wow. Three decades of incredible matches, moments, and legends, and we're

going strong, my friend.

With more than 1 ,400 original episodes, Raw is the longest -running weekly

episodic program of all time.

The Monday Night Juggernaut today is wildly different than its humble, very

origin, and that's the beauty of it. So let's witness Monday Night Raw's

genesis.

Monday night, January 11, live from New York, it's Monday Night Raw.

When Vince described this new show, that it was going to be live, that it was

going to be in your face every Monday night, he kind of got this excitement.

New York, Monday night, raw.

Anything can happen, right?

Excitement, I mean anything. Off the street, it doesn't matter, right?

matter. And you're not a part of it. You won't be there.

Felt like a new era.

On January 11th, 1993.

We came all the way from New Jersey to see Raw in New York City, and we can't

wait! Yeah!

I remember the excitement in my household all the way in Glasgow,

Monday Night Raw coming live from New York.

I knew what New York was. I was eight years old. I saw Home Alone 2. I knew

that meant. That was important to go, WWE is in New York. They're in a

venue. New York City!

Welcome,

everyone, to Monday Night Raw. We are live from New York City's Manhattan

Center. You're seeing everything in the big arena and everything, and now it's

like this kind of dingy, different -feeling show in the Manhattan Center.

feels more intimate. It's up close and personal.

It felt grittier. It felt more underground.

All right, I'm coming.

There you go. It just felt like something that you had to know somebody

somebody to get into.

Bobby Heenan. I'm going in there. No, no, no, no. Oh, yes, I am. You were

replaced. I weren't replaced.

Yes. By who replaced me? Rob Bartlett. You're not supposed to be in there. This

is Monday Night Raw. I remember Sean Mooney being outside of Manhattan

And Bobby Heenan trying to get in.

I have to. He's got the tickets for me for tonight for the Raw on discount.

got the discount. He's a good bagel. He's a good boy.

Wait a minute. Uncle Morty, you seem to be having a little problem here with

your beard. Bobby Heenan. I can remember him just trying to weasel his way, pun

intended, any way he could into the Raw production.

I'm sure we can straighten this all out. We could probably go into the Wilco.

Wait. Wait a minute.

Bobby Keenan couldn't get past Sean Boone. There's no telling what you're

to see here on Monday Night Raw.

Just seeing the potential in what that first episode was, you realize that we

were on the ground floor of something amazing.

The hottest live action around, it's WWF Monday Night Raw.

It was just kind of a perfect introduction to what Monday Night Raw

made you want to watch the next one.

And every Monday night for the next 30 years, we would be treated to Monday

Night Raw.

Unless there was the Westminster Dog Show.

Thank you for joining us tonight, ladies and gentlemen. We'll see you next week.

Thank you very, very much.

It's hard to think back before streaming changed the game in terms of what to

watch, when to watch it, and how.

But Raw getting preempted for the Westminster Dog Show was definitely not

awesome. But, as the King of Kings Triple H once said, everything evolves.

Now, speaking of the clique, two core members would be responsible for

the environment that just about anything can and would happen on Monday Night

Raw. It's a classic moment still discussed today and features the late,

Razor Ramon taking on a fresh -faced kid.

looking to make a name for himself.

We're live, ladies and gentlemen, returning back to the Manhattan Center,

Night Raw. It's going to happen, Macho Man. This is what life's all about, it

gets killed.

In 1993, it was very regular on weekly television to see a superstar compete

against a local competitor that you had never heard of before.

You have Hall of Famer Yokozuna versus some guy.

Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels versus some guy.

They got to raise their own versus some guy.

What's the kid's name this week?

He has been changing his name a bit. Let's just call him the kid. Two weeks

row prior to that, I got destroyed by Doink the Clown and Curtis Hughes.

I mean, they just wiped the floor with me. I didn't even get a punch in. You

know, I show up the next week, and I'm in the ring with Scott, and Scott starts

doing the same thing to me.

We're going to see an action deluxe of Razor Ramon. The kid is petrified, and

should be petrified because I don't believe this is going to be a wrestling

match at all.

Oh, toothpick. Yeah, toothpick in the old eye routine by Razor Ramon. Look at

the disparity in the size here, this youngster.

Oh, my goodness.

Oh, manhandling this youngster.

Now, mind you, this is like Razor Ramon at, like, the peak of his powers. I

mean, he is...

Six foot seven, six foot eight of jack TV Cuban muscles.

You know what I mean?

Not taking him seriously.

Fall away slam.

Oh, my.

Making mincemeat out of him.

He might get a little offensive, but for the most part, he's just getting

smacked around.

Razor Ramon playing around and having fun.

Razor missing.

The kid scrambles to the top rope and does a move.

That we never saw on WWE TV.

Out of nowhere, this dude does a moonsault.

He

just

beat Razor Ramon.

That's not supposed to happen.

Was that right?

What's going on?

Razor Ramon can't believe what happened to him. Razor Ramon is angry.

Razor Ramon got beat.

This is what dreams are made of right here.

No one thought that coming in. It was one of the greatest upsets in pro

wrestling history.

Hey, you got beat, brother. What happened?

No, brother, you got beat.

For me as a kid, it's like, I could do that. Like, I can do that.

That was like every single little kid on the planet watching wrestling.

being able to get in the ring with Razor and beating him. When he defeats Razor

Ramon, the crowd that night ate it up and continued to chant, One, two, three!

One, two, three! It was actually Bobby Heenan who would pick up on that and

actually suggested to Vince during a commercial break that they go with it

call him the one, two, three kid.

The one, two, three kid.

Right? Yeah. One, two, three kid.

Just like that.

Everybody suddenly was the 1 -2 -3 kid. He was everybody's favorite wrestler.

Well, you can call him a kid. You can call him the 1 -2 -3 kid because that's

the way it's going to go down in the annals of history.

Yep, a bad night for the bad guy. But nonetheless, a historic upset that

Raw and set the tone for what was to come.

For over 30 years, Monday Night Raw has seen plenty of incredible matches.

But every so often, you get to witness a true breakout performance, a defining

moment in WWE history when a superstar becomes a legend.

There are some moments that even if they just exist as moments, you

remember exactly how you feel when they happen.

From the campus of Penn State University, we welcome you to WWF Raw.

kicking off a nice broadcast with a huge one -on -one encounter.

Chris Jericho against the game, Triple H.

Triple H and his wife, Stephanie, they were the boss.

The McMahon -Helmsley regime were really getting power hungry.

Chris Jericho at that time knew exactly what the audience was thinking, and he

played to that.

Chris Jericho, as only Chris Jericho can do, was, let's say, insulting Stephanie

McMahon. None of the words I'm going to repeat here because I'm pretty sure

Peacock will do all this in my mouth.

Triple H comes to defend the honor of his wife, Stephanie McMahon.

How touching it is, Triple H, that you've come down for the honor of your

wife. If you think she's really special and you want to really impress her, I

think you should put that title on the line.

I hope you don't mind that I invested in a little insurance

policy for this match only.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Acolytes.

We were people for hire. And Chris Jericho.

He wants to get the title, so what do you do? You hire the APA.

He paid a lot of money. When you got a title involved, our fees go up.

Now, I just want people to know that.

What a way to kick off Raw here!

WWF title on the line!

Jericho got everything to gain here and nothing to lose.

Jericho has taken the game completely out of his game.

The Raw reaction from the crowd, whenever it's the underdog people are

for. It always feels so special.

You can almost feel it. Restoration building on the WWF champion.

Spinning heel kick. Jared Paul scores with a moon tall.

No!

We've got a new champion.

No way!

My God, can you believe it?

What?

You win.

Whoa, wait a minute. Chris Jericho's the champion. I remember picking up the

phone to call people and say, did you see that? Yeah, I saw that. Yo,

the champion. Yo, that's crazy.

I can't believe this, JR!

People were losing the freaking mind.

No one saw it coming. It was nuts.

Now, the thing about Raw is the good Lord giveth, but the good Lord

taketh away as well.

I was screwed!

It was a fast count.

Triple H intimidates and bullies are all into changing it around.

Are you going to reverse that decision?

Yes, I am.

I think the moment served a greater purpose.

People for a brief second got to see him with the world title.

And it wasn't a bad look. It fit.

I feel like that.

proved that he's main event material. Like, he is big time and deserves to be

the title picture.

Even though it technically didn't count, it counted to us. It counted right here

in our heart.

In the words of one Ron Simmons, damn!

Now, despite the outcome, that energy was lightning in a bottle and would fuel

the rise of one of the very best to ever do it.

Y2J himself, Chris Jericho.

You might notice a common theme through this show are these huge watershed

moments that changed the course of sports entertainment history.

Like when WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus and Alita became the first

performers to main event Monday Night Raw.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have been waiting a long time for this

We walked into the building and we were told that we would be main eventing

Monday Night Raw.

Wow.

To be the main event, you know all eyes are going to be on you.

It is going to be awesome.

I didn't remember any time in history that that had ever happened.

Part of it was like, oh my God, I can't believe this is happening.

The other 50 % was, you're damn right this is happening.

It's all about the title, but I think it's about a whole lot more.

For me growing up, there was something really cool and really special about

Trish and Lita.

It is so deeply personal here. Trish was the super, supermodel and blonde and

beautiful. Lita, she was more of like the tomboy dressed like faggy pants and

hung out with the boys.

They were stars and this was a personal rivalry.

There was bleeding, there was broken noses, there was hard hits.

People had signs for them all over the arena.

People were interested in seeing what would happen with Trish Stratus and

And it was time to cross paths at the top of the show.

At the time, the women weren't necessarily spotlighted in that way. You

really saw women in that main event spot.

Like a lot of things, you just do it and you don't even think about the

historical implications of it.

I think we thought, wow, we have two characters who are super over with the

crowd, and they happen to be women.

We could put them in the main event, and it will be a ratings -drunk main event

because the audience cares about these two women.

I've never seen anything like this, JR.

We knew this was huge for us. We knew it was huge for women.

And, man, we had a killer match.

These women are giving it everything they've got.

You could tell how important it was to both of them because they just laid it

all out there.

Oh, my gosh!

Seeing Lita scorpion herself on the outside was absolutely horrendous.

That is a sick -looking landing.

I realized, like, I'm okay. We're doing the thing, and we're delivering.

A very intense match here, a physical match.

Lita may have a broken neck, but she, by God, is still competing.

I wasn't thinking, ah, here are these two women wrestling.

I was like, these are WWE superstars.

Seeing Lita win the championship

was amazing, and I think it really resonated with so many women across the

world. It was like a light bulb went off. I was like, oh my gosh, women can,

know, have these great matches. They can be athletic. They can tell these

stories. I can't believe the effort both women displayed. It really was the

start of the women's evolution. It's wild to see how far the women's division

has come ever since.

The women's division has certainly, and rightfully so, skyrocketed in

popularity. And today, women are firmly in the main event spotlight, continuing.

to write their own chapters to Monday Night Lore and inspiring generations to

come. Now, when it comes to setting the bar and likely closing down the bar,

there is no one else more important to Raw history than my man, Stone Cold

Austin, who created highlight after highlight through raising hell and

beer.

In March 1999, the Texas rattlesnake would take those hell -raising drinking

-the -job ways to a whole new level.

Part of having a live show is knowing that absolutely anything could happen.

nobody played that out better than Stone Cold Steve Austin.

You can kiss my ass.

When he hit that first stunner, As ugly as that so -called stunner was, I

watched it like, yo, was that supposed to happen?

And it just kicked off a decades -long, incredible rivalry.

You've always got the corporation trying to one -up Steve Austin. You've always

got Steve Austin trying to one -up the corporation because whatever happens,

cannot have Steve Austin win that WWE championship.

When he cave -dipped his head in with a bedpan.

Oh, I'll take it from here, nurse.

Daddy!

That's going to live on forever.

Everybody wished they could do that to Vince McMahon.

Every single week, it was like, what can they do to up the Annie Moore in this

rivalry? What's Austin going to do? Don't let him in here!

Whether it be the Zamboni that he would drive down through the ring, crash into

the ring.

Stone Cold could fill a Corvette up with cement.

He could run over the Rock's Lincoln Continental with a monster truck.

One of those things where we're used to Uncle Steve Austin driving something.

What's the next thing?

Beer truck.

When he drove the truck out through the entrance, the whole Tron moved with the

truck like there wasn't proper clearance for it. And you were like, at any

moment, this whole thing could fall apart.

which is what the energy was for Monday Night Raw at the time. It was absolute

chaos.

Back then, it was the Wild West.

Yeah, just drive that thing in. It'll be all right.

WWE was different. The world was different back then. Things were a

chaotic.

What a reaction!

It's just a hell of a sight.

What a hell of a way to get your way into WrestleMania with two of the

personalities of all time.

Stone Cold Steve Austin is going to take his ass to Philadelphia, check right in

to the Smackdown Hotel, roll right in to room 316, and burn that son of a bitch

to the ground.

So he drives the beer truck down. That's probably enough right there. But little

did we know that Stone Cold was in a sharing mood that night.

He starts spraying beer all over the corporation, and everyone's taking a

bath in the middle of the ring.

Benzo's doing the swim thing as he's flipping in the puddles and stuff.

Like,

you just loved it. You loved to see him, the way he was writhing.

Man, it was pretty magical.

The fact that we're talking about it now, 20 -plus years later, tells you the

impact that a segment like that has.

One of the greatest TV rivalries in the history of primetime television.

I put Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin right near the top of that list.

And that's the bottom line for Stone Cold Success!

Mr. McMahon swimming in the beer bath.

Stone cold, managing to drink from a high pressure hose in the heat of the

moment. These are two iconic images that reminded fans that Raw is or was unlike

anything else live or on television. Which again, is what makes Raw so

It's as much about the awesome matches as it is about the entertainment and

spectacle of it all.

Like the one and only Festival of Friendship.

Airing the night before Valentine's Day 2017, this match featured the greatest

bromance of all time, Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. And on this night, let's

call this for celebration.

Yes, the red wedding of professional wrestling, the festival of friendship.

So I remember Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho being the best of friends.

You're the best friend ever, Kevin.

I love you!

I love you too, man!

They're like peanut butter and jelly. This is great.

We need to show the world just how huge our friendship is.

The Festival of Friendship.

Mud and I roared live on a strip in Las Vegas.

When you think of all of the best friends throughout history, all of them

in comparison to Jericho and Owen.

The pageantry Chris Jericho brought to it with his little chapeau and his

dancers with the big feathers.

He had a David Lee Roth sort of quality to him. Like, ah, it's a good night and

all this sort of stuff.

This isn't at all.

Jericho is Jericho. He's the man.

You can tell he was super excited about it.

Jericho was way more influent than Kevin Owens was.

Owens and Jericho are in. Let the fun begin.

There's a lot of gifts to give to you, my friend, to prove how much you mean to

me. Jericho gave Kevin a very beautiful piece of art.

Scoped it in, man!

The creation of Kevin!

Oh, my God.

I remember when it was revealed.

The audience's reaction.

You want me to hang this in my home?

You don't even have any pants on.

I was showering with gifts.

They went so over the top that night.

It was just hilarious.

Friendship the magician. Look at this.

You know what? Actually, that really wasn't all that impressive.

Friendship. You know what happens when you don't impress Kevin Owens at the

Festival of Friendship, huh?

You just made the list.

Chris Jericho has something called the list of Jericho. So I have made the list

of Jericho and I put all my grievances right here. You just made the list.

You just made the list.

You just made the list.

You just made the list.

I got you something too, but it's really not much, especially not compared to

this, but.

It comes from the heart, man.

I think everybody was kind of at the edge of their seat, not really knowing

was going to come out next.

It's perfect.

A new list.

He picks up the list, and everybody in the arena knew what was happening except

for that poor, thap Chris Jericho.

And he says these words that have echoed in his mind for a long time.

How come my name's on this?

Oh, my God!

Kevin Owens beating the hell out of Jacko! What is going on?

It takes talent to do something good, but it takes something extraordinary to

something memorable.

And this will go down as extremely memorable.

Oh, no, no, no!

Man, Kevin Owens really is a dick, isn't he?

Like the other Raw moments being spotlighted, the Festival of Friendship

original, fun, and pure mayhem. Once again, it underscored how

is a staple ingredient to the DNA of Monday Night Raw.

Just like our next spotlight.

On April 1st, 2007, John Cena and Shawn Michaels tore the house down in an

epic confrontation for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 23.

However, near week later, fans were shocked that not only would there be a

rematch, but one that would be even bigger, even better, and further prove

the only thing you can expect on Raw is the unexpected.

Tonight, it's a WrestleMania rematch, and it's all about who is the better

John Cena taking on Shawn Michaels is a massive match.

And here it is on Monday Night Raw.

But it's not about title.

It's not about stiff.

It's just about having a match between two of the greatest of all time.

What this rematch is all about is competition.

Bring superiority.

John Cena did come out victorious at WrestleMania.

But Shawn Michaels wants to prove to John Cena that he's the better wrestler.

Here you have the guy who has become...

The face of the company and John Cena facing the guy who has been the face of

the company in Shawn Michaels.

This match was insanely good.

A loud and raucous crowd here tonight in London, England.

British crowd always bring the energy.

Anytime you get Shawn Michaels and John Cena in a ring, no matter where it is in

the world, you get that special feeling, that electricity.

Big move after big move.

That will do it, Buck.

Oh, my God.

Damn, are there 25 minutes in?

This will be it. See how they go.

What?

They're 40 minutes in. What a tremendously physical match.

My goodness.

Everybody's in the edge of their seat. No one's sitting down.

And it was just, it was fantastic.

We are seeing here tonight one of the greatest one -on -one matches in the

history of Monday Night Raw.

These two have been going for a very, very long time. Completely exhausted.

Just

a

beautiful ending.

and a beautiful story told by two of the best of all time.

What a match we have just witnessed!

John Cena and Shawn Michaels went almost an hour in a match that was arguably

even better than their WrestleMania match.

It's very difficult to keep people's attention for that amount of time, let

alone have them out of their chair cheering for what they just saw.

This is a match we'll be talking about for years to come.

Shawn Michaels and John Cena gave that Raw audience, not only in UK, but around

the world, one of the best matches in the history of Monday Night Raw.

An absolute clinic for sure. And of course, a generational dream match

live by Raw audiences across the globe. I mean, we've seen it all thus far, and

yet we're only scratching the surface.

Some moments come from classic matches, and others are just pure entertainment.

But this, this next entry was the spoils of a long -fought war between WWE and

rival WCW. March 26, 2001 was an unforgettable and

surreal day in sports entertainment.

Here I am on WCW television.

How can that happen?

Welcome to a landmark night in the industry.

This is the last Nitro. We're going out with the bank.

I remember reading in the newspaper, WCW and Time Warner up for sale. You see,

it was just a matter of time before I, Vince McMahon, bought my

competition. I immediately picked up the phone and I called my friends. I

thought I was dreaming.

What the hell's going on?

For the first time ever in sports entertainment history, this broadcast is

not only being seen here on TNN, but it's also being seen across Turner

Network Television.

These two companies were literally trying to put each other out of

And now on each channel, you're showing each other's product. It was mind

-blowing. I was a huge WWE fan. I loved WWE too, but I was more of a WWE guy.

So that was my side. And knowing, like, my side won, we did it. It was such a

collective, like, yeah, we did it. We bought WCW.

Tonight, for sure, one man will make history.

Watching Raw and Nitro being simulcast at the same time, that was a little

weird. Time Warner, they've signed the contract, and I will sign the contract.

We still didn't really know.

What was going to happen with WCW?

It's been an emotional rollercoaster for all of us fans. The uncertainty of our

jobs, our future. Where does WCW go from here? What's in the cards? What's going

to happen? And there was one more bombshell to come as Shane McMahon, the

prodigal son, he decided to crash his father's party just one week before they

were set to face off at WrestleMania 17.

Wow, is this real?

Okay, what else is possible now?

WCW is buried.

Surprise, Dad.

Shane McMahon is on Nitro.

That was what my brain was doing. I was like, wow, what in the hell is going on?

Your ego has gotten the best of you. The deal is finalized with WCW.

And the name on the contract does say McMahon.

Shane McMahon.

The contract reads McMahon.

But it says Shane McMahon.

I now own WCW.

Shane McMahon has bought WCW right from under his father.

Just like WCW kicked your ass in the past, that's exactly what's going to

to you at WrestleMania.

All the walls were broken down, and anything was completely possible in that

moment, and it was.

How can this actually, I never thought I'd see the day in here.

Here comes the money.

Shane O'Mac's hostile takeover of WCW shocked the wrestling world. A mic drop

moment. That was made even bigger by playing out in front of two live arena

crowds and millions at home. I was one of them. There was a buzz, ladies and

gentlemen, in the air. And fans like me knew they were witnessing history in the

making. That feeling is what makes Raw so special. And it's those same emotions

we all shared on the night Becky Lynch went from calling herself the man to

being the man.

We're going to Raw. We're going to invade.

I am with my family in this gym.

The man shows no fear.

In that era, Survivor Series was all about brand warfare.

Raw versus SmackDown.

Becky Lynch shows up with the entirety of Team SmackDown and just invades Raw.

Wait a minute. Who the hell? What the hell?

That SmackDown's here.

All hell breaks loose.

Women are clawing and fighting and scratching everywhere.

All -out assault from the SmackDown Women's Division.

Women wrestling, this is it. Yes.

And a spear by Charlotte.

Obviously, when things get that chaotic, things can happen.

I get a punch in the face from Nia Jax that changed my career.

Becky Lynch all busted up.

But she keeps fighting. She's bleeding.

But she keeps fighting.

They hand me a towel. I freaking take it, wipe my face, throw it back at them,

get back in the ring and go to town.

But they're attacking Ronda Rousey.

Becky may have a broken nose. Obviously, she doesn't care.

Absolutely nothing could stop her. You could literally break her face.

And it just wasn't even anything to her. She's just soaking it all in.

It reminded me of Uncle Steve Austin and the sharpshooter against Bret Hart with

the blood running down his face.

And he was just screaming in agony, never giving up. And it was the same

Becky.

Smackdown had hit. They had established themselves.

And it's a lasting image.

that would launch a career that has never been the same since.

There will always be that iconic image of her with her bloodied face standing

the top of the stands.

That moment doesn't happen without her, and that moment will always exist in

history.

I'm up there smiling, freaking blood on my face. I know that.

The camera's still on me, so I'm just going to stand there and bask in my

bask in all that I've done.

Becky's a badass.

That really did meant her career. That was the turning point in her career

she really skyrocketed after that.

That was an organic moment that created the man, Becky Lynn.

What a total badass.

We had all witnessed the true arrival of the man.

Becky Lynch, and the defining moment for a career destined for greatness.

Two thumbs up for the man, everyone. Get him up. Two thumbs up and one thumbs

down for our next moment featuring evolution and the ready -to -be

animal, Batista.

Standing before you, evolution with all the gold.

Evolution had been established as a faction of the past, present, and the

future. Batista was the enforcer. Dave was a monster.

Dave Batista, 6 '5", 325 pounds.

We were the antiheroes. We were supposed to be in the heels, but people loved

us. By 2005, fans were ready to see what Batista could do as a truly top guy

in WWE.

Batista will be in the main event at WrestleMania 21.

When Batista won the Royal Rumble, Triple H's plan was to have Batista go

to SmackDown and challenge their champion, JBL.

I mean, why shouldn't he go to SmackDown and wrestle JBL? I mean, hell, that's a

championship he can win.

We had kind of seen a little bit of tension within Evolution.

I always wondered about, and everyone else watching wondered about, does

know that Triple H is using them to protect his position?

How hard it is to make Dave think that JBL was trying to run him over.

It's all for nothing. It's a big idiot.

gets here tonight and decides to be selfish and stay on Raw.

You are a genius. You make me the most intelligent human being.

Batista knows exactly what's going on.

He's using Hunter's own game against him. Pun intended.

Everybody knew.

Everybody knew he had heard this conversation.

They knew he was on to us, and they were just waiting for it and begging for it.

You saw it coming. You knew it was coming.

He was a stick of dynamite just waiting for it to explode.

Dave already knew if he'll do it with me, he'll do it to me. So before you get

me, I'm going to get you.

And it was brilliant.

Hunter, I've known what I was going to do for a long

time.

He finally turned on evolution. That was the moment Batista really arrived.

They took the time setting the stage for this. It was a very pivotal moment for

his career.

Hunter, I'm staying right here on Raw.

And at WrestleMania, I'm taking the world championship from

you. I was only as good as I was because of Hunter. He made me a star, and I

just never looked back.

While the saga of evolution played out, fans had clamored for Batista to unleash

the animal within.

And boy, when it came time to deliver, Batista did not disappoint.

And while we all saw it coming, I mean, well, everyone except Triple H and Ric

Flair, none of us could have seen the demise of The Shield coming.

Ironically, no one except Triple H.

So personally, I've always been a fan of heels in professional wrestling. So I

do appreciate a good heel turn, and there were none better than when the

separated. And now we get set for our main event, the Shield, the group who

knocked off Evolution last night.

The Shield had been absolutely rolling death rollings.

Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, the Hounds of Justice. They were the dominant

faction, not only of the present, but they took out a dominant former world

champion faction of the past in a reformed evolution.

Looking back at that, I think they were at the highest point they could possibly

be at.

Last night at Payback.

The shield adapted while evolution perished.

People were so emotionally invested in the shield.

Three brothers with an unbreakable bond, family.

They weren't brothers.

The men standing in this ring are brothers.

They got each other's backs.

Nothing was going to separate them. So Randy Orton, bring your ass out here and

let me break your jaw with the symbol of excellence.

Well, Seth Rollins realizing, after no holds barred last night, it's going to

another battle with evolution here tonight.

The architect of the shield is loading up with the toys as well.

With any good team or with any good faction, you know it's just a matter of

before something happens.

And you never know when it's going to be.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, what I do better than anybody is adapt.

The shielder in the ring, Triple H, says... Last night was plan A.

Tonight, plan B.

There's always a plan B.

Oh, my God!

What just happened?

Rollins assaulted Ambrose after he took out Reigns. What is going on here?

You know, when you do something like I did to Ambrose and Reigns and you break

up a unit that is so beloved as the Shield was, it puts a lot of pressure on

because that's me saying, okay, this is my time. I'm the man.

Seth Rollins taking that chair to Roman and then to Dean only to betray them for

the authority was just heartbreaking.

No one expected it. Everybody was watching at the edge of your seat

can't believe what you're seeing.

The facial expressions in it, the emotions through it, the crowd.

What made it so special is that people weren't sick of seeing the sale

People loved the sale together.

Seth's on top of the world. Why in the world would Seth Rollins do this?

Seth took it upon himself to...

turn on his brothers, and I think we really saw Seth's true colors moving

forward.

Seth Rollins, did he just make a deal with the devil?

We'd gone as far as we could possibly go as a group. My ultimate goal is to be

the very best, not one of the very best. It just wasn't going to happen sharing

the spotlight with two other guys.

Usually when the heel turn works the best is when people, they'd almost

see you together than apart, and then you take that away from them.

And that's what they did that night, and it was epic.

While it's always sad to see the breakup of a great band, no one can deny

Seth Rollins' ambitions as the architect designed a path to becoming one of the

greatest stars of the modern era. And of course, don't worry, Roman Reigns and

Dean Ambrose would end up just fine.

Now. to a Raw moment that drew more tears than jeers, a David and Goliath

matchup from the famed Attitude Era that would go down as one of the most

momentous and emotional nights in WWE history.

Full disclosure, I was watching Nitro. If you're even thinking about changing

the channel to our competition, fans, do not.

Unlike us, their show's been taped.

In 99, Nitro was live and Raw was taped.

So WCW is like, oh, you know what? We're going to spoil it. We're going to tell

everybody. No one's going to tune into the main event.

We're going to kill them in the ratings.

Later tonight, Mick Foley is going to win their world title.

He's going to put some butts in the seat.

Yeah. Wait, what? Really? All right.

The WWE Championship is up for grabs. The Rock against Mankind.

Of course you want to see Mick Foley win the WWE title. Everybody who is a

wrestling fan loves Mick Foley.

Everybody kind of been rooting for him. They've watched him, you know, destroy

himself in every match that he's had.

Here's a guy that you feel sorry for in a way, and people get behind that.

But WWE champions had never looked like Mick Foley before.

Until finally, it was time to see the impossible happen.

Watching it happen, it didn't feel taped at all.

Proud, my God.

It's electric.

In this time frame, this is like classic WWE.

Just utter chaos with a bunch of people that you care about.

DX is out there.

Corporation's out there.

Absolute chaos, man.

One of the corporate members came in. Billy Gunn nailed the hell out of him.

Everybody's brawling all over the place.

Then, just to even add, you know, more fuel to the fire.

This moment that was never supposed to happen has now happened.

Mankind has achieved its dream and the dream of everyone else who's been told

you can't do it. You see Vincent Mann crying up the rampway.

Mankind is hoisted up onto the shoulders of DX.

Tonight and forever, Nick Foley will simply be known as WWF

champion. That was the tilt in the Monday Night War.

Like, WWE wins by a landslide that night, and then they just never lose

And it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

People like me don't reach the summit.

They don't reach the pinnacle.

Until we do.

No, Adrian!

I did it!

I have goosebumps.

It's been estimated that about 600 ,000 viewers switched channels that night to

watch Mankind capture the WWE Championship.

And what a treat we all got. It was pure magic as Mick Foley entered the

pantheon of other legendary WWE champions with his unforgettable

that night.

Raw is without question the destination for the biggest big -time moment. And

today... We only gave you the tip of the iceberg.

Before we sign off, we want to give a special shout -out to the soundtrack for

many of these incredible memories, Jerry the King Lawler.

We're all thinking of you and looking forward to seeing you back real soon,

King. Obviously, I grew up watching Raw. You were always my dad's favorite part

of it. We love you, man.

I hope, ladies and gentlemen, you've had as much fun as I have looking back at

30 years of Raw's history.

Until next time, I'm Greg Miller, and it's been my pleasure to serve you.

Come on. It's awesome.

On the next This is Awesome, the most awesome moments in WrestleMania history.

From once -in -a -lifetime clashes... Yeah, rock bottom! Rock bottom!

...to sheer spectacles... The irresistible force beating the immovable

...it's sports entertainment's grandest stage... This is what it's all about.

...where icons finally come face -to -face.

I cannot believe my eyes! Give us performances we will never forget.

never gave up! Austin never gave up!

And steal the most spectacular show of all. Rollins with the heist of the

century! Witness immortality.

The streak is over.

Only on the next This Is Awesome.

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