25 Best Moments Of WWE Monday Night RAW (Year-By-Year)
3. 2015: Kevin Owens Debuts
While 2015 was a year of some bright spots, it was generally a bad year creatively for WWE, as it was becoming very apparent to the general audience that RAW was growing vastly inferior to NXT in terms of storytelling and wrestling quality. Naturally, what better way to shake things up on RAW than to inject it with some NXT credibility?
During one of John Cena's U.S. Open Challenges (which were the highlight of the entire year), the audience were surprised to see then-NXT Champion Kevin Owens make his main roster debut. Instead of challenging for the title, however, Owens verbally berated Cena, and once words were exchanged, the Prizefighter hit the champ with a sneak attack, thus setting up a feud.
Not only was KO's debut a refreshing change of pace, it also marked the first chapter of Cena's new role as elder statesman in WWE. His elevated midcard slot now allowed him to serve as gatekeeper for young, exciting talent, and give them an opportunity to show an audience unfamiliar with them what they were capable of.
Cena would repeat this magic a year later...