10 Great WWE Raw Matches That Came From Out Of Nowhere

The early years of Raw were not exactly chock full of barnstorming matches and, in fact, it wouldn't be until about '97 that viewers would be treated to such far on a regular basis. The show (which only ran an hour) mostly comprised short squashes and rarely was there anything long and competitive in the offing.

Every now and again though WWE would throw their fans a bone and treat them to something they could really sink their teeth into. One of the best matches of Raw's early years was the Bret Hart Vs. 1-2-3 affair that opened the July 11th 1994 episode of the show.

These two just worked so well together with Kid's kicks and dives and spills combining excellently with The Hitman's ground-based attack of submissions and suplexes. Bret got a pinfall after countering a crucifex but the match was re-started when the Excellence of Execution alerted the referee that Kid's foot was on the ropes.

Bret once again began controlling the pace before Kid countered a flying forearm and mounted a comeback, rocking The Hitman with more kicks and a crossbody off the top. A powerbomb and top rope leg drop couldn't get the job done, so Kid resorted to unleashing a crazy tope-con-hilo off the top to the outside.

After missing one more inside the ring, it looked like curtains for Kid but he was able to counter a superplex for another hair-raising nearfall. In the end, Hart was able to catch Kid coming off the top with a missile dropkick and catch him in the Sharpshooter for the submission victory. It was one high-risk move too many for the plucky underdog.

Hart embraced and endorsed his opponent after the match as a clearly impressed Jim Ross and Randy Savage gave them a well deserved standing ovation from the commentary desk at ringside.