The supposedly celebratory Raw 25 was so violently bereft of joy 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 inside the historic Manhattan Center came at the expense of The Revival. Stone Cold Steve Austin wasn't permitted to say a word ahead of hitting Vince and Shane McMahon with Stone Cold Stunners and showing what bullets he still had in the chamber just minutes later. Legends were sent out in lines to smile and wave instead of engage in something meaningful. The rest were thrown into an increasingly silly poker vignette. A heavily teased show-closing Brock Lesnar/Braun Strowman showdown lasted less than five minutes.
An ungainly mess, the whole event it brought into focus one of the decade's bigger losses...
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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
