WWE Raw Gallery: 25 Years Of Iconic Monday Nights
16. 2002 - NEVER Say Never
Dateline: 15th July, 2002
Booker T's eyes just about popped out of his head as an out-of-shot Eric Bischoff emerged in front of him. His walk-on halted a routine promo from the 'Five Time WCW Champion' before being formally unveiled by Vince McMahon at the top of Raw's second hour.
The trick was to keep the hour one viewers clinging on past the commercial break to see if their eyes had deceived them. The Monday Night Wars had come full circle - Vince was using Bischoff's professional failings to inflate his numbers just as 'Easy E' had done with the entire WWE product six years earlier. He had hired his mortal enemy, and wanted to reap the rewards.
McMahon's bombastic introduction of Bischoff as a full time character (and their emphatic embrace) came perhaps a year too late for maximum impact, but as a representation of WWE's old 'Anything Can Happen' mantra, there were few arrivals more shocking.