Looking Back At WWE's Ten Best Episodes of Raw Ever
By Ryan Page
The Raw that Gravity Forgot (Apr 6, 2015)
2015 wasn't the peak for WWE programming, and the product steadily got worse each year after that. It was a dark time as the PG era morphed into their network or "reality" era that never caught on. There were genuine moments that popped out, though, and this one episode of Raw seemed to fly above the rest. Like the breakout star of the show, it was a Raw that the gravity of the WWE product, sinking to depths previously unimagined, seemed to forget.
The superstar responsible was Neville, and he faced off with the new WWE Champion, Seth Rollins, and his Authority cronies in a title match that very much over-delivered. The near falls and the athleticism were on display as the WWE fans chanted "NXT" to back not only the recent call-up in Neville but the recruitment brand that brought these two talents into the fold. Their match was not only a good Raw match and not only a good title match; it was a match for the future. Contests like this one are more common on Raw, Smackdown, and NXT now. At the time, though, it was like seeing into a crystal ball and WWE's next phase in evolution.
The future theme resonated elsewhere on the card, too. Both Roman Reigns and Ryback were featured heavily and had a main event contenders match with Randy Orton. The Miz and Damien San(Miz)dow finally got their unironically highly anticipated match. The New Day went ahead and introduced their future heel personas, which would make them legends years later. A mid-carder named Stardust answered John Cena's US Open challenge and had a fun affair where both men got to use an innovative offense. Today, we all see how that guy made out. The action was good and it felt like a preview of the era we live in now, just several years out of place.