8 Ups And 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (July 27th)
For the first time ever, no Hulk Hogan references whatsoever.
Welcome to the first Monday Night Raw in the post-Hulk Hogan era, a period in which the man who helped put the WWF on the map in the 80s no longer exists as far as the company is concerned. A quick note on that: Absolutely, Hogan should be condemned for his remarks. Whether they were made eight years ago while drunk or eight days ago sober, theres no excuse for that kind of bigotry. Should he be fired? Most likely yes. Should he be erased from WWE history? Thats not as easy of a question. WWE obviously did what it felt was right. However, there are plenty of other superstars with checkered histories (and not within storylines like Triple H and Booker T in 2003). Steve Austin immediately comes to mind given his domestic abuse arrest and the fact that WWE now has a zero tolerance policy for such behavior. If Chynas porn career disqualifies her from Hall of Fame consideration, why is Sunny still in the HOF? But thats an issue for another day. Raw brought us more womens wrestling, a series of first time ever matches and a stellar main event that included a gruesome injury for one man to rise above. There was no pull-apart brawl this time, but that didnt stop WWE from showing last weeks Brock Lesnar/Undertaker melee multiple times. So what Hulked up and what got leg-dropped out of existence? Lets get to it