12 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Raw From 2005
5. First Ever 3 Hour Raw Got It Right
Anyone who has tuned into one of them knows that WWE would eventually struggle to fill 3 hours on Raw every Monday over a sustained period, but the ‘Raw Homecoming’ for WWE’s return to USA Network on 3 October 2005 was different. It felt exciting back then to think that the flagship might be souped up by an extra hour.
That wasn't the norm, so it was fresh.
Knowing they'd still need to rely on superior in-ring work to carry them through, the company put Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle in a 30-minute ‘Iron Man’ match earlier on the card. That was a shrewd decision, not least because HBK and 'Sexy Kurt' had already torn the house down several times in 2005.
Elsewhere, Edge and Matt Hardy contested a ladder bout that also determined where the former's Money In The Bank briefcase would end up, and John Cena worked a brief ‘No DQ’ main event vs. Eric Bischoff that never tried to be something it wasn't. Everything seemed to go off without a hitch.
As if that wasn't enough, various legends stopped by to have a few laughs. That concept wasn’t played out back then either, so fans were delighted to see the likes of Roddy Piper and Mick Foley sharing screentime on 'Piper's Pit'. Being honest, by October '05, Raw badly needed a show like this to reignite interest in the brand.
A few of the episodes before Homecoming were a little so-so, and it was the right call to make the jump back to USA Network feel like appointment television by tacking on that bonus third hour.