11 Times WWE Was Better Than Literally EVERYTHING
5. Raw Is XXX
A commercial-free first hour kicked off the celebratory 30th anniversary edition of Monday Night Raw, but such extravagances weren't a new thing by 2023. Exceptional use of the time though? Hitherto unseen.
After the era-defining disaster that was Raw 25 in 2018, legends nights and tribute shows had long lost their lustre. Segments favouring over-familiar figures from the past dominating young wrestlers became the norm, the product travelled backwards more than back in time, and nobody new got over as the monopoly years trudged on. Raw Is XXX couldn't have been any more different, and not least because opposition in the form of AEW had launched specifically to counter the walking dead market leader four years earlier.
A well-oiled machine making good on so many of the ideas and concepts that had worked a treat since Vince McMahon's exit, WWE felt on fire again. On a show that featured warm nods to the past but also Imperium staring down a terrified DX and The Undertaker subtly passing a torch to the late Bray Wyatt mere months before his passing, the opening 60 minutes were a toast to everything being expertly built.
"The Trial Of Sami Zayn" was set up to decide once and for all if the family outlier should remain part of The Bloodline due to certain mistakes and mishaps that psychopathic leader Roman Reigns had pinned on him. In a magnificent reversal of the group's former dynamic, Jey Uso saved Sami from a Solo Sikoa spike attack, using his own evidence to get him off the hook with 'The Tribal Chief'. This was exceptional Royal Rumble go-home material (more on that elsewhere), but came directly before The Usos were set to defend their tag team gold against rapidly-rising stars The Judgment Day. Sure enough, Jimmy was hurt in a pre-match melee, and Sami returned the favour to Jey to be an "honorary Uce" in more than name alone.
Adam Pearce approved the late change because weeks earlier, he'd afforded a similar cast switch to The Judgment Day before they'd earned their title shot. Best-of-the-best booking with the tightest plotting in over two decades. A new peak was on the horizon.