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WWE Raw: Top five all-time greatest moments in Raw history

By Bryan Heaton

LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 08: Actor and WWE personality "Stone Cold" Steve Austin appears at a news conference announcing the WWE Network at the 2014 International CES at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on January 8, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The network will launch on February 24, 2014 as the first-ever 24/7 streaming network, offering both scheduled programs and video on demand. The USD 9.99 per month subscription will include access to all 12 live WWE pay-per-view events each year. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs through January 10 and is expected to feature 3,200 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to about 150,000 attendees. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 08: Actor and WWE personality "Stone Cold" Steve Austin appears at a news conference announcing the WWE Network at the 2014 International CES at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on January 8, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The network will launch on February 24, 2014 as the first-ever 24/7 streaming network, offering both scheduled programs and video on demand. The USD 9.99 per month subscription will include access to all 12 live WWE pay-per-view events each year. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs through January 10 and is expected to feature 3,200 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to about 150,000 attendees. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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The Festival of Friendship

It’s astonishing as I look back at the history of WWE Raw and realize that, while I’m usually among the fans clamoring for more wrestling matches, the best moments of the show are non-wrestling segments.

I guess that even great matches tend to get lost in the shuffle after so many episodes and matches. It’s also hard to re-air enough of a match to jog a memory, while one quick sentence can capture a promo segment.

Chris Jericho is a born showman. It’s why he’s been able to remain relevant as a sports entertainer for nearly 30 years, and why a silly little metal cover band is now a legit force in the music industry. During his likely-final run with WWE, Jericho teamed up with Kevin Owens, and both superstars would win championship gold.

However, Jericho’s greatest moment in the partnership turned out to be the final moment of the partnership — a Las Vegas-themed “Festival of Friendship” that Jericho organized to celebrate his union with KO.

Twenty minute segments are rare in WWE — unless you’re a McMahon, or someone feuding with a McMahon, and you’re opening the show. But on February 13, 2017, Jericho and Owens spent over twenty minutes and two segments watching magicians, admiring art, and beating up Gillberg.

But, because Universal Champion Owens had been entered into a title defense against Goldberg by Jericho, the festival ended in heartbreak. Pro wrestling friendships are a fickle thing, and Owens abruptly ended his and Jericho’s with a vicious assault.

Some of you may be wondering why I chose to acknowledge the Festival of Friendship instead of “The Rock: This Is Your Life.”

Two reasons: first, the Festival of Friendship actually advanced the relationship/story, while This Is Your Life was twenty hilarious minutes of treading water from a storyline standpoint; second, “Bayley: This Is Your Life” is the biggest hunk of garbage promo WWE has run in some time, and the association to The Rock’s segment just by name is too much to forget.

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