10 Most Shocking WWE Raw Manhattan Centre Moments

4. Rs Over T*t

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Paul Heyman sardonically asked 'Does this show suck without ECW or what?!' as he invaded WWE's one-off 1997 return to Raw's home base. But one of his top stars came within inches of making it even worse in a chaotic closing scene.

After Jerry Lawler had antagonised the Philadelphia outfit on the previous week's show, Heyman brought his troops to the Manhattan Center as part of a mutually beneficial business agreement with Vince McMahon. Half of WWE's roster were working abroad, leaving Raw bereft of talent to fill the weekly televised block. Meanwhile, ECW's maiden pay-per-view offering Barely Legal was just weeks away, and an opportunity to appeal to the loyalest remaining WWE supporters was too good an opportunity to pass up.

On an evening in which Taz, The Eliminators, The Blue World Order, The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer and others wreaked havoc, the 'Homicidal, Genocidal, Suicidal' madman took flight onto his chief rival's coaching staff in an attempt to create a memorable visual from ECW's surprise visit.

Vindicating 'The King's persistent criticisms, it was Extremely Crappy. Losing his balance on the wobbly 'R' prop, Sabu instead tumbled gracelessly onto a pile of bodies that just about broke his fall.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett