WWE's Monday Night Raw is the longest-running episodic television show in history. It is the show most responsible for wrestling's place in popular culture and continues to filling arenas since 1993. The most memorable moments of Raw from Stone Cold vs McMahon to The Rock are often the poster children for the company.
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With hundreds of unforgettable segments and stars, many aspects of Raw history are often lost to the massive amounts of content the company puts out each year. This list examines those moments in history, the ones even the most hardcore fans may not remember happened on the program that has defined wrestling for almost three decades.
10 Goldberg Has Only Lost 1 Time On Raw
Everyone knows Goldberg has been one of the most dominant stars in the history of wrestling television. Most stats about him winning won't shock anyone. One thing everyone knows about Goldberg is his intro and the fact that McMahon will push him as a winning champion at any moment, age, or point in time.
Goldberg has never been a staple of Monday Night Raw, which is why he has so few matches on the program. Still, it's shocking that of all his appearances on Raw Goldberg has only lost once in his entire career. Of course, the loss was in a ridiculous handicap match in 2003 where he fought Evolution, Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista, where he still looked dominant against three future hall of famers.
9 The First 32 Episodes Took Place In New York
The WWE has become a global form of entertainment, but in the early days of Monday Night Raw, the series only took place in one state, New York. Many fans forget that WWE was once considered an east coast wrestling promotion.
Even today, most associate Connecticut with WWE if they are considering an east coast connection. The Manhattan Center, The Mid-Hudson Civic Center, and the Castle Recreation Center housed the first 32 episodes of Raw and all but four episodes in its inaugural year.
8 Hulk Hogan Never Wrestled On Raw Before Joining WCW
Hogan joining WCW in 1993 would ultimately lead to the unforgettable "Monday Night Wars" of the 90s. What many do forget, is despite Hogan being on the WWE roster in 1993, the year Raw debuted, Hogan never wrestled on the program.
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It's even more shocking when fans consider he was the WWE champion for a couple of months in 1993. What's more staggering is how little the superstar appeared on the program. Aside from a few promos and taped segments, Hulkamania was basically absent from the early days of Raw.
7 Thursday Night Raw
Raw has become as much of a Monday night staple as NFL football. What many fans forget is in the middle of the "Monday Night Wars" while WWE was losing the battle, the company aired an episode on Thursday to test the waters, in case WCW somehow dropped the ball with their huge lead (which they did).
The episode is actually stacked with content. The infamous Shawn Michaels losing his smile segment occurred that evening. Rocky Maivia won the intercontinental Championship which set up the story that led to the creation of The Rock and it also laid the groundwork for Stone Cold vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania.
6 Sgt. Slaughter Has Only Won 1 Match On Raw
Many young fans forget how over Sgt. Slaughter once was in the WWE world. The WWE Hall Of Famer was once a pillar of the company in the 80s but by the time Raw came about he was more of a legend than atop guy. Still, it's shocking when you consider Sgt. Slaughter made sporadic appearances on Raw for almost 16 years and still only managed to obtain ONE win.
If Raw existed in the 80s this number would be much higher, but as the facts stand Sgt. Slaughter has fewer wins than The Hurricane on Raw. The win was against a future world champion, Dolph Ziggler, who was a part of the Spirit Squad as Nicky at the time.
5 Raw Was Originally Pre-Taped
The live aspect of Monday Night Raw is also one of the show's trademarks. At one point, Vince McMahon figured it would be more cost-effective to just tape Raw and air it later in typical episodic Tv fashion. In a world of no social media, this approach to WWE television held up with fans for over four years.
In the spring of 1997, in the middle of a battle with the live Monday Nitro, Raw moved back to live airings and despite a few sporadic tapings here and there, has been live for most of the airings since.
4 Andre The Giant Died A Few Days After Raw Premiered
Andre the Giant is one of the most iconic wrestlers to ever live. By the time WWE Raw made it to air, Andre was already on the tail end of his career and, unfortunately, his life.
Raw debuted on January 11, 1993, and only 16 days later on January 27, 1993, the wrestling world lost its giant. Such an icon, there is no doubt if it were not for his untimely passing, Andre would've shown his face at one point or another on the first year of WWE Raw.
3 The Attitude Era Is Only About 5 Years Long
When most people think about the WWE Raw they often think back to the insane and prodigious WWE Attitude Era. Stone Cold, The Rock, and The Undertaker all started their careers in this era of huge viewership. What many forget about the Attitude Era is that it only lasted for 5 years from 1997 to 2002.
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Although 5 years seems like a long time for a tv show, in terms of the total existence of RAW, the era was only 15% of its existence on air. Its impact makes it feel like those days lasted at least a decade.
2 Shawn Michaels vs Marty Jannetty Was The First Title Change On Raw
Shawn Michaels is one of the greatest stars WWE Raw gave the world. During the first year of the program, he was competing for the Intercontinental Championship against his former tag team partner Marty Jannetty. The Rocker's battle was great for fans of wrestling, but also for new watchers who couldn't help but get invested in the feud between the two former friends.
It seems fitting now that the two competed in the first title change in the history of Raw when Jannetty beat Michaels to capture the Intercontinental Championship.
1 Raw Has Never Beat Monday Night Football In The Ratings
WWE Raw's greatest on-air foe has always been Monday Night Football. Even though Raw has done tremendous numbers since it arrived on-air, the program has never beaten Monday Night Football in the ratings. Some will often point to the highs of the Attitude Era as a time when the two were competing viewer for the viewer.
​​​​​​​The truth is, even at the peak of Raw they were at their very best doing half the numbers of MNF. As ratings continue to fall for WWE and hold for MNF it seems unlikely a victory for Raw will ever happen.
