It’s become a tradition that ‘anything can happen on the Raw after Wrestlemania’, especially since we’ve seen a spate of returns, debuts, farewells and landmark moments take place the night after Wrestlemania. It’s at this moment that WWE seems to cap off one year (tying up rivalries and hunts for championships at Wrestlemania) by going full steam ahead into the next (new rivalries begin along with the aforementioned returns and debuts).
In honour of this unpredictable night, I am going to share Five Great Raw After Wrestlemania moments and hopefully, there will be many more to come.
Honourable Mention – Farewell To The Legends
The Raw after Wrestlemania has bared witness to a number of grand farewells for some of wrestling’s greatest. In 2008, Ric Flair said goodbye to a large collection of his peers, old and new, following his career-ending loss to Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 24.
Just two years later, The Nature Boy’s retirement-causer HBK found himself making his goodbyes in a much less bombastic affair following a loss to Undertaker at Wrestlemania 26. Perhaps the most dramatic, poetic and, unfortunately, perfectly timed farewell came the night after Wrestlemania XXX when recent Hall Of Fame inductee The Ultimate Warrior made a tearful closing statement on his career only to sadly pass away the very next day.
FIVE: The Rock & John Cena Make A Date
Following John Cena’s loss to The Miz, thanks to The Rock’s interference, at Wrestlemania 27, the former Doctor of Thuganomics hit the ring on Raw to call out the man who cost him the WWE Championship.
Looking past The Great One’s lack of in-ring activity, Cena challenged The Rock to a match. The Rock accepted on one condition, that they do it right and they do it one year from that day, in Miami, at Wrestlemania 28. And with that, the most anticipated match in Wrestlemania history was made.
FOUR: Hulkamania’s Red & Yellow Returns
It was the night after Wrestlemania X-8 and Hulk Hogan was riding the wave of emotion that began as he stared into The Rock’s eyes before their match got underway right the way through to Raw in Montreal.
Hogan kicked off Raw soaking in yet another thunderous ovation from the Canadian crowd who were seemingly acting as catalysts in the persona change from ‘Hollywood’ Hulk Hogan back to the old-fashioned Red & Yellow aesthetic of Hulkamania. Some words of encouragement from The Rock and some less than-encouraging comments from former running mates Kevin Nash & Scott Hall were all the Hulkster needed to turn his back on the black & white of the NWO and revisit taking some vitamins & saying some prayers.
THREE: Who’s Next?
While it wasn’t a surprise that Goldberg was making his WWE debut following Wrestlemania XIX, the question was raised of who he would cross paths with after the big show. During the final segment of Raw, The Rock (there he is again!) made his presence felt as he gloated about his victory over Stone Cold Steve Austin just 24 hours before.
As The Great One began to serenade the Raw crowd with one of his ‘concerts’, some other familiar musical notes hit the arena as Goldberg chose there and then to make his debut on WWE television. Responding to The Rock’s earlier remarks of ‘Who’s Next?’, Goldberg simply let The Rock know that he was next before laying him out with a huge spear.
TWO: Dolph Cashes-In
Following two successful title defences against Jack Swagger at both Wrestlemania and the following night on Raw, Alberto Del Rio was looking worse for wear but things were about to get a whole lot worse for the Mexican Aristocrat as reigning Mr Money In The Bank, Dolph Ziggler hit the ring with the intention of cashing in his shot for the World Heavyweight Championship.
A little more offence than traditional post-match cash-in, Del Rio had fans wondering if he’d best the fresh Ziggler making him the first to unsuccessfully cash in. Still, a second Zig Zag was hit and three seconds later, the show-off was crowned World Heavyweight Champion in front of an extremely rowdy New York/New Jersey crowd.
ONE: Lesnar Returns
Following his loss to The Rock at Wrestlemania 28, John Cena went to Raw on the next night in Miami hoping to meet The Great One in the ring again to shake his hand out of respect for the loss seemingly.
Instead, Brock Lesnar returned to WWE after 8 years away, marched down to the ring and hit Cena with a massive F5. Lesnar’s return made the top of this list for a number of reasons – He’d been gone for nearly a decade, there were no rumours about him returning to the company until he was seen in Miami the day before and, obviously, this wasn’t announced beforehand.
I was fortunate enough to be in the arena that night and remember myself & those around me losing their minds at this genuinely shocking moment. Sure, Lesnar’s various stints in WWE have never been what we thought his return would mean but, at the time, this was a fantastic surprise that only added to the unpredictability of ‘The Raw After Mania.’
What is your favourite ‘Raw After Mania’ moment? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us at @SLTDWrestlng
Recent Comments