Every Major Wrestling Debut TV Show Ranked From Worst To Best
6. WWE Monday Night RAW
Plotted with an inspired and funny night-long storyline that effectively put over the popularity of the show—Bobby Heenan’s ill-fated attempts to get inside the building—RAW, at the time, felt like scary, outlaw stuff. The sound of a siren blared through New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom, and it only just drowned out the hyper braying of a predominantly adult audience in stark—almost unsettling—contrast to the family-friendly presentation of the customary WWF show.
All of this was slightly undermined by the immediate, Day-Glo presence of Koko B. Ware, but Yokozuna sent him flying across the ring and almost through it, with his Banzai drop, which illustrated the promised danger of this audacious experiment. As did the Steiner Brothers, who absolutely murdered a pair of ironically-named Executioners with demented suplexes.
Attempts were made to introduce new characters to the new show: Bobby Heenan did his best to get the bust Narcissist gimmick over, and the original (incredible) heel Doink character hovered, eerily, around ringside.
The Undertaker Vs. Damian Demento main event was awful, but it didn’t matter: we were a long way from match quality and very much in the thrilling face of fresh, all-star action.