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The Best Match From Every Year Of WWE Raw | partsFUNknown Monday Night Raw just had its 30th birthday. Congratulations old man! To celebrate here is the best match from every year of the show's history!  00:00 - Start 00:44 - 1993 01:14 - 1994 01:39 - 1995 02:10 - 1996 02:40 - 1997 03:07 - 1998 03:36 - 1999 04:05 - 2000 04:39 - 2001 05:13 - 2002 05:42 - 2003 06:14 - 2004 06:42 - 2005 07:10 - 2006 07:36 - 2007 08:09 - 2008 08:38 - 2009 09:08 - 2010 09:34 - 2011 09:59 - 2012 10:28 - 2013 10:56 - 2014 11:21 - 2015 11:51 - 2016 12:19 - 2017 12:53 - 2018 13:19 - 2019 13:48 - 2020 14:11 - 2021 14:37 - 2022 15:07 - 2023  SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/ Buy wrestling merchandise here: https://www.wrestleshop.com/ Read more Feature content here on WrestleTalk.com: https://wrestletalk.com/features/

Transcript

00:00 Holy hell, Monday Night Raw is old.

00:02 30 years.

00:03 I can't imagine anyone ever being that old.

00:05 It never happened to me.

00:06 As the show prepares to celebrate its 30th birthday

00:08 and not its 30th anniversary,

00:10 because I guess not knowing how anniversaries work

00:13 is a WWE thing regardless of the regime,

00:15 we can now take a moment to reflect on the times

00:17 that the show wasn't a steaming pile.

00:19 It's happened less often than you think.

00:21 All right, let's quit the pitter patter and let's get at her.

00:23 I'm Tempest Hailing from PartsFunKnown,

00:24 and this is the best match from every year of WWE Raw.

00:28 But before we get on with our list,

00:29 make sure of course that you like this video,

00:30 subscribe, and enable notifications to always on

00:32 so you never miss a fun list just like it.

00:34 And make sure that you check out the plethora

00:36 of Royal Rumble content that we've had

00:37 coming your way this month.

00:38 Watch Survival Series, it's also great,

00:40 and Royal Rumble themed, and you love the Royal Rumble.

00:42 Don't lie to me, I know you do.

00:44 1993, Shawn Michaels versus Marty Jannetty,

00:46 episode 26, July 19th.

00:48 Hey, remember when Marty Jannetty

00:50 jumped through the barbershop window to escape Shawn Michaels?

00:52 Well, a year and a half later,

00:54 Jannetty finally pulled himself out

00:55 of Brutus Beefcake's storefront

00:57 to challenge HBK for the Intercontinental Championship

00:59 on Raw.

01:00 In the doldrums of the new generation era,

01:02 these two had a match that both encapsulated

01:04 why they were one of the most popular tag teams of their day

01:06 and why their style would be representative

01:08 of the future of Raw.

01:10 It's a shame Shawn had to drop the title here.

01:12 Everyone will always remember

01:13 that Marty Jannetty's better than him.

01:14 1994, Bret Hart versus 123 Kid, episode 69, July 4th.

01:19 Look at this little head tilt.

01:20 This thing, this is my favorite part of the match.

01:23 Bret Hart defends the WWE Championship

01:25 against the 123 Kid and Kid takes him over

01:28 and through superb physical storytelling,

01:30 Bret realizes that this match is gonna be a lot more

01:32 than he had prepared for.

01:33 Bret has always been a master of the ring

01:35 and when he got to wrestle someone who could keep up with him

01:37 it made for the highlights of mid-90s WWE.

01:39 1995, Bret Hart versus Hikushi, episode 121, July 24th.

01:44 Here he is again, that Bret Hart,

01:45 having good matches in 1995, what a god.

01:49 1995 is maybe the worst calendar year in WWE history

01:52 and that extended to their flagship program.

01:54 Bret faced Hikushi while Jerry Lawler berated him

01:57 and our ears on commentary and it is a shame

01:59 Hikushi didn't get more of a run in WWE

02:01 considering how well he worked with a top star like Bret.

02:03 Bret fights off Hikushi's manager

02:05 and wins with the sharpshooter.

02:06 It's nothing memorable but then again, neither is 1995.

02:09 1996, Shawn Michaels versus 123 Kid,

02:12 episode 149, March 4th.

02:14 HB Schizzle may not have liked many people in the 90s

02:17 but he sure liked his friends.

02:18 The 123 Kid was one of those friends

02:20 and as such, the match they had on Raw in March of 1996

02:23 felt like two friends working super hard for one another.

02:26 Shawn was just weeks out from his coronation

02:28 at WrestleMania 12 and this was a great showcase match

02:31 with crisp action and Shawn fighting off

02:33 the interference of Ted DiBiase.

02:34 Again, it isn't mind-blowing by today's standards

02:36 but considering what else was on Raw at the time,

02:38 yeah, this is pretty great.

02:39 1997, Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin

02:42 versus Owen Hart and British Bulldog, episode 211, May 26th.

02:45 When WWE has just put their best wrestlers in the ring

02:48 and let them wrestle, good things have happened.

02:50 Doesn't matter which time we were traveling around the sun,

02:52 WWE's best have been pretty great.

02:54 It also doesn't matter when it is,

02:56 WWE (beep) loves themselves a can you coexist, don't they?

03:00 It's in the episode description for (beep) sake.

03:03 Michaels and Austin did indeed coexist

03:05 and had a (beep) great match doing it.

03:06 1998, Steve Austin versus Kane, episode 266, June 29th.

03:11 1998 wasn't a great year for match quality

03:13 for WWE on Monday nights

03:15 but that wasn't what made Raw must-see.

03:17 It was Steve Austin (beep) up, mother (beep).

03:19 One night after being screwed out of his WWE Championship,

03:22 King of the Ring, Austin just said

03:24 he wasn't gonna stand for it,

03:25 winning his title back in the quickest fashion possible.

03:28 It isn't the technical masterclass

03:29 that would become commonplace on Raw 20 years later

03:32 but that pop when Austin wins the title back

03:34 is Attitude Era frenzy to a T.

03:36 1999, The Rock versus Mankind, episode 299, February 15th.

03:41 This is a real hot potato era for the WWE Championship.

03:44 Despite this only being the 46th day of 1999,

03:47 this was already the fourth title change of the year.

03:49 While that might be completely mad to some,

03:51 it wasn't for the people in the crowd that night.

03:53 The Rock and Mankind have a very good ladder match,

03:55 much more in line with the ladder matches of the time,

03:57 free Hardys, Dudleys, and Edgy Christian,

03:59 with less giant spots and more wrestling,

04:01 with John "The Dwayne" Roxson

04:02 earning his way to WrestleMania to face Steve Austin.

04:05 2000, Triple H, X-Pac, and The Radicals

04:07 versus The Rock, Mick Foley, and Too Cool,

04:09 episode 350, February 7th.

04:11 The WWF mid-card had finally arrived.

04:14 The turning of the tide and the quality of Monday Night Raw

04:16 as an overall program came when they finally sorted out

04:19 their goddamn roster.

04:21 When you take a roster that already had Mick Foley,

04:23 The Rock, Undertaker, Kane, and Triple H at the top,

04:26 and then start to add folks like The Radicals,

04:28 that's how you get a stacked roster.

04:29 Sure enough, you had this massive collection of stars

04:32 who would be incapable of having a bad match.

04:34 The star power alone would have carried this match,

04:36 but thankfully, they did a good wrestle too, didn't they?

04:39 2001, Triple H and Steve Austin

04:41 versus Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit,

04:43 episode 417, May 21st.

04:45 For a long time, I only knew this

04:47 as the one where Triple H tore his quad,

04:49 my favorite episode of Friends.

04:50 But no, this might be the single greatest match

04:53 in Raw history.

04:54 Triple H still in his best run,

04:55 Steve Austin still being one of the best workers

04:57 of his generation, and then two incredible underdog workers

05:00 that the crowd badly wanted to see win.

05:02 This might be the best tag match in WWE history,

05:05 and this is slightly unrelated,

05:06 but Jericho and Benoit wrestled TLC3,

05:09 maybe the best match in SmackDown history,

05:11 the next (beep) night.

05:12 Incredible.

05:13 2002, TLC4, episode 489, October 7th.

05:17 If TLC3 is the forgotten TLC match,

05:19 I don't even know what that makes TLC4.

05:21 The weird TLC match where the original three teams

05:24 all got spliced up with Bubba Ray Dudley

05:26 swapping D-Von out for Spike,

05:28 Chris Jinn exchanged his edge for a Chris Jericho,

05:30 and Jeff Hardy got a new brother in Rob Van Dam.

05:32 All the while, Kane was tanking the match solo.

05:35 It is a car crash on free TV.

05:37 I pray for the men involved,

05:38 but thank them very much for having such a great match.

05:42 2003, Triple H versus Shawn Michaels,

05:44 episode 553, December 29th.

05:47 Adam really needs to have a chat with his dad

05:49 about ruining people's fun.

05:50 He did it a lot in WCW,

05:52 but hadn't gotten his fill apparently

05:53 because he decided that this match

05:55 for the World Heavyweight Championship

05:56 had to abide by the rules.

05:59 Triple H and Shawn Michaels

06:00 have probably their best straight singles match,

06:02 and just as the match reaches its conclusion

06:04 with Shawn appearing to have won

06:06 the big gold belt once more,

06:07 Eric LeBiche alerts us all

06:09 that Shawn's shoulders were down too.

06:11 No fun, no winner, but a great match.

06:13 2004, Shawn Michaels versus Chris Benoit,

06:16 episode 571, May 3rd.

06:18 2003 was a bad (beep) year for Raw.

06:21 2004, however, saw a massive influx of talent,

06:24 capable of putting on fantastic matches

06:26 with extreme regularity, just like this one.

06:29 Benoit and Michaels were maybe the best workers

06:31 in WWE at the time,

06:32 and the two of them wrestling a half hour classic

06:34 for the big gold belt is a prime example

06:36 of why Raw was actually so good in 2004.

06:39 (beep) this finish though.

06:40 Gotta be all about Triple H.

06:42 2005, Shawn Michaels versus Shelton Benjamin,

06:44 episode 623, May 2nd.

06:47 Best super kick of all time.

06:50 Three years in a row,

06:51 HB Schizzle having the best Raw match of the year.

06:53 The final leg of this trilogy stands

06:55 as one of the best matches in Raw history,

06:56 and a prime example of why Shelton Benjamin

06:58 should have been given so much more of a chance in WWE.

07:01 I could talk about this match until Raw becomes two hours,

07:04 but all I wanna talk about is this (beep) kick.

07:07 Kicks his (beep) face off of his face.

07:09 2006, Edge versus Ric Flair, episode 660, January 16th.

07:14 It took nearly six years for WWE

07:16 to put on their first TLC singles match.

07:18 And when fans thought about all the great candidates

07:20 to have that first singles TLC match,

07:22 I don't think any of them would have considered

07:24 Ric Flair as one of the men involved,

07:26 but that does not mean the match wasn't great.

07:27 Edge and Flair didn't do a lot of high flying,

07:29 but they put on a smartly worked match

07:31 that had the crowd in a frenzy

07:32 by the time Edge retrieved his belt.

07:34 Also, look, it's Charlotte.

07:36 2007, John Cena versus Shawn Michaels,

07:38 episode 726, April 23rd.

07:40 Is there a more legendary Raw match?

07:42 Just a match that has become part of the lore of the show

07:45 and respected by basically everyone.

07:47 Just weeks after their epic match

07:49 in the main event of WrestleMania,

07:50 John Cena and Shawn Michaels put on

07:52 one of the longest matches in Raw history,

07:54 going 56 minutes and tearing the house down

07:56 right here in London, England.

07:58 You don't see matches like this on Raw then or now.

08:01 And as a result, this is an achievement of a performance

08:04 when you consider the ability needed

08:05 to not only wrestle for an hour,

08:06 but be this entertaining for an hour.

08:09 2008, Jeff Hardy versus Umaga, episode 763, January 7th.

08:14 The best whisper in the wind of all time.

08:18 Jeff Hardy and Umaga had really great chemistry

08:20 with one another, and that was on full display here

08:22 when they were locked in a steel cage

08:24 in the main event of Raw Roulette 2008.

08:26 This is a really fun cage match,

08:28 with Hardy trying to fight off his monstrous opponent

08:30 while dealing with Randy Orton's

08:31 continued interference from the outside

08:33 before getting the win with the best whisper in the wind

08:36 of all time.

08:38 2009, John Cena versus Shawn Michaels,

08:40 episode 816, January 12th.

08:43 During his second run with WWE,

08:44 Shawn Michaels had the best Raw match of the year

08:47 five separate times.

08:49 They don't call him the best for nothing.

08:50 Cena and HBK rekindled their 2007 rivalry

08:53 just in time for Shawn's boss JBL to have a terrible match

08:56 with John Cena at the Royal Rumble.

08:57 And if that sounds stupid, that's because it was.

08:59 This match was an underrated gem,

09:01 with Shawn getting the win because it is written in stone

09:04 that Shawn beats Cena every time

09:06 unless the title is on the line.

09:08 2010, Randy Orton versus Edge versus Chris Jericho,

09:11 episode 895, July 19th.

09:13 Don't ask me why I vividly remember this episode

09:15 of Raw from 2010, but it was a phenomenal show.

09:18 The episode where Cena forms Team WWE to take on the Nexus

09:21 starts with this all-star triple threat match.

09:23 Orton, Edge, and Jericho all battle to face Sheamus

09:25 for the WWE Championship,

09:27 and here, Edge and Jericho's 2010 rivalry

09:29 keeps getting in the way of either man getting the win,

09:31 with Orton coming away with it

09:32 at the height of his popularity.

09:34 2011, The Miz versus John Morrison,

09:36 episode 919, January 3rd.

09:39 The only good title defense of The Miz's WWE Championship

09:41 reign, on the first Raw of 2011, Miz the Miz Mazanin

09:44 put his belt on the line against the Parkour Prince

09:46 and former tag team partner, John Morrison.

09:48 Too many WWE Falls Count Anywhere matches

09:51 still end in the ring, and I can't stand it.

09:53 So, any Falls Count Anywhere match

09:55 that ends literally anywhere else

09:57 gets a gold star from me, like this one.

09:59 2012, Dolph Ziggler versus Daniel Bryan,

10:01 episode 1013, October 22nd.

10:04 It is absolutely incredible to see how much of a difference

10:07 in star power there is between Mr. Money in the Bank,

10:09 supposedly with a bright future, Dolph Ziggler,

10:11 and It Should Have Been Me, Dolph Ziggler.

10:13 Here, he takes on former World Heavyweight Champion,

10:15 Daniel Bryan, and is presented

10:17 as being completely on his level.

10:19 They are two talented wrestlers doing a talented wrestle

10:21 in front of fans that haven't been beaten down

10:23 by the treatment of both men yet.

10:25 Bryan is in his no phase, he and Kane are very entertaining.

10:28 2013, CM Punk versus John Cena,

10:30 episode 1030, February 18th.

10:33 What would the timeline look like

10:34 if this match simply had a different result?

10:37 CM Punk and John Cena may have been

10:38 each other's greatest opponent,

10:39 and on February 18th, 2013,

10:41 they had their last match together.

10:43 Had Punk won or they'd done a schmaws

10:45 and done a triple threat at Mania,

10:46 giving Punk that Mania main event he wanted so badly,

10:49 who knows how we look back at the past decade of Punk history.

10:52 Also, there's a pile driver in this match,

10:54 and that's just neat.

10:55 2014, The Wyatts versus The Shield,

10:57 episode 1084, March 3rd.

11:00 The sequel to the two factions'

11:01 excellent match at Elimination Chamber,

11:03 this time, The Wyatts beat The Shield

11:05 not simply because they overwhelmed them,

11:06 separating each Shield member from the pack

11:08 and beating them at their own numbers game,

11:10 but because this is where Seth Rollins

11:11 had enough of his team's bickering.

11:13 Seth walks out to end a fantastic trios match,

11:16 furthering the tension within The Shield

11:17 and foreshadowing the group's real split months later.

11:20 2015, John Cena versus Cesaro,

11:23 episode 1154, July 6th.

11:26 To be perfectly honest, there are about a dozen matches

11:28 that could have made excellent entries for 2015.

11:31 Seth Rollins versus Neville, Roman Reigns versus Cesaro,

11:34 but when you think of Raw in 2015,

11:35 you think of John Cena's US Open challenge.

11:38 Hell, there are 10 candidates just from that reign alone.

11:41 However, on July 6th, Cena took on Cesaro

11:43 in a pay-per-view main event caliber match,

11:45 going a half hour in the main event of the show

11:47 and tearing the house down

11:48 like we had never seen in 2015 before.

11:51 2016, Charlotte versus Sasha Banks,

11:53 episode 1227, November 28th.

11:56 For as jank as Sasha Banks and Charlotte's

11:59 pay-per-view matches were in 2016,

12:01 every time they wrestled on Raw, they killed it.

12:03 Any of the three times Sasha won the title

12:05 could have made it on here,

12:06 but the Falls Count Anywhere match

12:07 the two had on November 28th is the best of the bunch.

12:10 And hey, look at this finish, not in the ring.

12:12 That's a big old gold star from dear old Tempest.

12:15 Look at this Banks statement.

12:17 Jesus wet, that's beautiful.

12:19 2017, Bayley versus Charlotte, episode 1238, February 13th.

12:24 2017 was a very strange time.

12:27 WWE seemed bound and determined to take the slam dunk moment

12:30 of Bayley's first main roster title win

12:32 and do every single possible thing wrong with it.

12:34 Win at WrestleMania?

12:36 Nah.

12:36 Break Charlotte's pay-per-view undefeated streak

12:38 in a satisfying way?

12:39 Nah.

12:40 Have Bayley admit that she didn't deserve to be champion

12:42 but was going to be champion anyway?

12:44 Yup.

12:45 How did you land on that?

12:46 The match itself is the only bit

12:48 they got right in this equation,

12:49 as Bayley and Charlotte brought that NXT level of quality

12:52 to the main roster.

12:53 2018, Seth Rollins versus Finn Balor,

12:55 episode 1301, April 30th.

12:58 Seth Rollins and Finn Balor had a pair

13:00 of excellent matches in early 2018,

13:02 but this one was for the Intercontinental Championship,

13:04 raising that title's value

13:05 with another great title defense.

13:07 And this match was given the distinction

13:08 of being the main event of the show.

13:10 This was the best Seth was as a babyface,

13:12 and if they had simply allowed him the chance

13:13 to have a long run as IC champion

13:15 with title defenses like this,

13:16 he'd have been the top babyface

13:17 WWE always wanted him to be.

13:19 2019, The Revival versus Chad Gable and Bobby Roode,

13:22 episode 1342, February 11th.

13:25 The reports from the house shows at the time

13:27 were that the Gable and Roode versus Revival matches

13:29 were consistently fantastic

13:31 and consistently tore the house down.

13:32 Watching this match, I can fully believe it.

13:34 However, those matches probably got a better live reaction

13:37 than this one got.

13:38 Two awesome teams having the TV match of the year

13:40 in front of absolute silence,

13:42 then a "This is awesome" chant, then back to silence.

13:45 Might as well have had no fans at all.

13:47 Oh, wait, no, 2020, Randy Orton versus Drew McIntyre,

13:50 episode 1434, November 16th.

13:54 (groans)

13:55 The bad times.

13:56 This is the best of a cursed bunch.

13:58 Drew McIntyre wins the WWE title back,

14:00 that's happy fun time, but it can never be watched again

14:03 because they're wrestling in front of your (beep) dad

14:06 trying to figure out how to make his browser full screen.

14:08 I can't talk about pandemic wrestling anymore.

14:10 We move.

14:11 2021, Seth Rollins versus Rey Mysterio

14:13 versus Finn Balor versus Kevin Owens,

14:15 episode 1483, October 25th.

14:18 It is tricky to have an ultra memorable

14:20 ladder match these days.

14:21 However, putting four of your best wrestlers in the match

14:23 with high stakes is a good place to start.

14:25 On the ever important season premiere of Raw,

14:27 these dudes took bumps no one should be taking on free TV.

14:30 But hey, you tell Kevin Owens not to swant

14:32 on his way onto a ladder.

14:33 The next time we make a list of underrated ladder matches,

14:35 this one will be on it.

14:36 2022, RK-Bro versus Alpha Academy

14:39 versus Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins,

14:41 episode 1502, March 7th.

14:43 Here's a thought that doesn't often creep into my head.

14:46 I miss Randy Orton.

14:47 Orton spent so much time doing nonsense with The Fiend

14:50 that when he finally got to just wrestle some matches,

14:52 he was great.

14:53 Everyone was desperately trying to find a match

14:55 for WrestleMania.

14:56 So in a sense, this match had added stakes,

14:58 even though that's a weird way to promote your wrestlers

15:00 for your big show.

15:01 But these dudes are all great

15:03 and we get another all time great RKO, a thing of beauty.

15:06 And 2023, Austin Theory versus Seth Rollins,

15:09 episode 1545, January 2nd.

15:13 Slim pickings here.

15:14 Not that this match wasn't good.

15:15 We've just got three Raws to work with in 2023 so far.

15:19 Seth Rollins has been the best in-ring performer on Raw

15:21 for the past several years.

15:23 And it doesn't appear that that is going to change in 2023.

15:25 Rollins tried to get his US title back

15:27 on the first Raw of the year.

15:28 And while he didn't manage it,

15:29 he did manage to have the best match of the whole year.

15:32 The whole year.

15:33 No need to continue.

15:34 Cancel Raw there.

15:35 Happy birthday.

15:37 And that's our list.

15:37 Make sure of course that you subscribe to PartsFunKnown.

15:39 And if you want another list to catch up on right now,

15:41 make sure you check out this one,

15:43 the 15 greatest Royal Rumble comedy spots.

15:45 Johnny Knoxville getting his brains bashed in

15:47 by AJ Styles in 2022,

15:49 or Vince McMahon selling his knees to Saudi Arabia.

15:52 I'm Tempest hailing from PartsFunKnown

15:53 and these are the 15 greatest Royal Rumble comedy spots ever.

The Best Match From Every Year Of WWE Raw | partsFUNknown

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