20 Years of Raw: 20 Highlights and 20 Lowlights, 1993-2002

The flagship show of “sports entertainment,” Monday Night Raw, celebrates its 20^th anniversary tonight. During its two decades, Raw has become a pop-culture institution and forever changed the way televised wrestling is done. To help you bask in the nostalgia, here’s a year-by-year tally of highlights and lowlights of Monday Night Raw.

Of course, it’s a subjective list, so be sure to share your own highlights and lowlights in the comments section.

Happy 20^th Anniversary, Raw!

1993

Highlight: Raw debuts in New York’s Manhattan Center, effectively launching the modern era of “sports entertainment.” It was a different kind of venue for a different kind of show, promising “uncut, uncooked, uncensored” action. Although it was substantially different from the slickly produced, three-hour arena shows we now see every Monday, it set the tone for wrestling’s premier television program.

Lowlight: Raw debuts in New York’s Manhattan Center, with matches featuring Damien Demento and Max Moon, with insufferable commentary by Ramblin’ Rob Bartlett. Although the concept of Raw was innovative and exciting, there were unpleasant growing pains in the early goings.

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About The Author: Colin Hunter

Colin Hunter is a print and online journalist who was named the best sportswriter in Canada by the National Newspaper Awards in 2008. He is a longtime contributing writer (as C.F. Hunter) for Pro Wrestling Illustrated, The Wrestler and Inside Wrestling, and has been a regular writer for SLAM! Wrestling. Career highlights include drinking beer with Fit Finlay, chasing a cat with Christian in his backyard, and gluing a wig onto the bald head of the late Missing Link.

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