12 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Raw From 2005

4. Raw In Japan Could’ve Been A PPV

Chris Jericho Benoit Submission Match WWE Raw 2005 Japan
WWE

Good lord, this was unreal.

WWE went international for the 7 February 2005 edition of Raw, and they knew some of the usual fare wasn't going to endear anyone to a more hardcore, wrestle-centric audience. So, when the card opened with Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit meeting one another in a ‘Submission Match’, fans in the Saitama Super Arena knew they were in for a treat.

Other bouts on tap? Oh, nothing special, just Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels, Tajiri and William Regal winning the tag titles from La Resistance, and Triple H vs. Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship. At times, this was a pay-per-view quality show with a completely different flavour compared to most Raws in the United States.

Batista beating Maven in 30 seconds and Randy Orton vs. Tyson Tomko were nothing to write home about, but those were fillers. Ditch them, stick a better match in there and this could’ve been a ‘B’ tier PPV easily. That's not something one could say about a lot of Raw episodes of the era.

Kicking things off with 2 guys who had history in the country was delicious decision making. Benoit was slightly more popular than Jericho with the local fans on the day, but both Canadians had everyone gripped mere minutes into their match, and they set a brilliant tone for what could be expected from the rest of the show.

Tajiri and Regal getting their flowers was another genuinely heartfelt moment. They were one of the best odd couple tag-teams going.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.