Ranking Every WWE Raw Anniversary Show From Worst To Best
7. Raw 25 (22 January 2018)
Delivering below even reasoned expectations, Raw 25 was a myriad of missed opportunities that implied a reliance on nostalgia may itself have become too cliched a trope in 2018.
Trapped in a tributary inception of sorts, there were homages to segments that themselves were homages at the time. DX's reunification of old and new ahead of squashing The Revival mirrored the sh*tkicking Damien Sandow recieved at Raw 1000, and The Ascension's humbling at feet and fists of the New World Order, New Age Outlaws and APA in January 2015.
Steve Austin stunning Vince McMahon was a must on such an occasion, but the decision to ban him from speaking was offensive to the television and paying audience.
That was in keeping with the rest of the night. Barclays Center fans could at least wave back at the GMs, Divas and legends that stumbled out onto the stage every now and then, but the top ticket Manhattan Center faithful were barely afforded the same treatment. Chants of 'bullsh*'t and 'refund' echoed around the hallowed halls until the show's closing moments after the better part of three hours sat watching a big screen in literal and emotional darkness.