10 Best WWE Raw Cliffhanger Endings Ever

2. Ric Flair & Vince McMahon Are Partners (19 November 2001)

It's long been said that the WCW 'Invasion' angle might've been different had Vince McMahon burned a hole in his pockets to sign stars like Bill Goldberg, the nWo, Sting and Ric Flair from the off. There were a variety of reasons why he didn't (most of them had guaranteed deals and didn't need to work), but those names eventually signed on.

The night following WCW's demise at the 2001 Survivor Series, Flair was the first.

In his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, 'Slick Ric' disrupted McMahon's attempt to crown Kurt Angle the new WWF Champ and revealed he was now a 50% owner of the company. Then, the 'Nature Boy' shared a beer with Steve Austin and Raw went off the air with a party mood.

This would end up being the starting point for the first brand split, but nobody knew that then. All anyone wondered was how the McMahon and Flair dynamic would work on TV, and what it'd be like to have dual babyface and heel owners.