Raw 25 kicked of an insane year with a show so bereft of ideas that it took virtually every major name in the show's history and wasted them all whilst simultaneously locking the most hardcore sect of fans in a building and forcing them to watch it on happen mostly on a screen.
DX and The Bálor Club's tepid union didn't particularly placate the braying hordes after hours and dollars wasted inside the historic Manhattan Center, not least because it came at the expense of The Revival. Meanwhile, more crimes against were committed in Brooklyn.
Stone Cold Steve Austin wasn't permitted to say a word ahead of hitting Vince and Shane McMahon with Stone Cold Stunners. Legends were sent out in lines to smile and wave instead of engage in something meaningful. The rest were thrown in an increasingly silly poker vignette. A show-closing Brock Lesnar/Braun Strowman showdown lasted less than five minutes.
Nothing bad in 2018 should have been a surprise - WWE advertised how much of a mess they could make on the year's first major show.
It took something only fit for the website to save that sh*tshow...
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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
