411’s WWE 24 Report: RAW 25

411’s WWE 24 Report: RAW 25

-Another episode of WWE 24 has dropped and this one covers the much hypes RAW 25 show that took place in The Manhattan Center and The Barclays Center. My guess is they don’t touch on the fan revolt at The Manhattan Center, but stranger things have happened.

-We start with Chris Jericho riding in a car to Brooklyn and he talks about RAW being the longest running episodic television series in history and that all the “Bonanza” fans are probably angry, but they can suck it. Shane goes even more direct by saying it is the longest running entertainment series on television. That one is kind of crazy and there is no weird spin to even try to make that legit.

-ESPN footage as they hype RAW 25 and we go back to Shane spewing it being the longest running entertainment series on TV. Cole follows Shane’s lead and mentions it has run longer than a show like The Simpsons. No. Just no!

-We get some cool behind the scenes production meeting stuff as they discuss the issues of doing a simulcast. Angle thought it was crazy to try doing this from separate buildings. Bryan talks about The Barclays being the home of the WWE in New York. HHH said it dawned on him that when RAW debuted in the Manhattan Center it evolved the business. He puts over how things were prepackaged and doctored up shows, but RAW changed all that as it was live. They show highlights from that first night and Heenan trying to get in dressed as an old woman will always be classic.

-They show other top moments during the show’s run and Hogan/Rock Mania challenge is still amazing as is Chris Jericho threatening Bob Barker. Ziggler cashing in on Del Rio, Shane buying WCW, Rollins turning on The Shield, and Austin’s beer truck are some of the many moments touched on as well.

-Very cool footage never seen from the first show as Shane talks about working behind the scenes. Young Shane McMahon looking like a deer in the headlights is great. Vince soaking in the cheers of the Manhattan Center crowd between commercials is fun as well.

-HHH says Vince is often called this generation’s PT Barnum and he thinks he gets sold short at times. He took guys and turned them into great characters (mentioning Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker). Of course he gets credit for Taker, but Hogan was Hogan before coming back to the WWE. Vince just gave him a bigger platform, but that’s semantics I guess.

-Taker breaks character as he is pulling into The Manhattan Center and it gives him a chance to reflect. Waltman, carrying around his dog, meets with fans outside and then catches up with Taker. He tells Taker the dog was a stray and has a broken jaw so has special needs. How sweet of Waltman to take in the dog.

-Now Shawn Michaels and Razor walk into the Manhattan Center and they reflect on working in the building. They show the Kid upset of Razor and Waltman says it was huge for him. No kidding! He still gets goosebumps thinking about it.

-JR and Lawler walk around the building and they mark out over making the cover of the chairs on the floor. That is the first time they have ever made it on a chair. They show highlights of the two during their run together and Lawler talks about the moments outside the ring: which we see McMahon getting attacked by Austin in the hospital, DX Invasion, Punk’s pipe bomb, and The Yes Movement.

-The Miz is swarmed by fans outside the arena and he tells Maryse that he felt like a piece of meat out there. He talks about watching RAW as a kid and he won’t forget Austin destroying McMahon’s corvette with cement and says that his father had the same car. He is amazed a kid from Parma, OH is going to be a main attraction at RAW 25. He talks about his career and that he is a RAW guy. They show him cashing in on Orton and then winning his first IC Title on RAW 1000. No matter how much he does, he never gets the respect he deserves and that puts a chip on his shoulder. He is proud the main match for RAW 25 is him going for the IC Title.

-The talent start arriving for RAW 25 in Barclays and it is fun seeing them all relaxed and having a blast with their coworkers. Eric Bischoff is here and says it feels like a homecoming. Some of the girls pose backstage with a giant cake that was created and Bayley marks out over seeing Trish Sratus.

-Back outside a hotel and Jericho meets with fans and one tells him he loved the match with Omega. Oh man! Hardcore Bullet Clubs fans are probably wetting their pants over that mention. They show a montage of Jericho moments and it is easy to forget sometimes how awesome he has been over the years and especially all the different ways he has changed his character to stay relevant.

-Austin is proud that the show has lasted 25 years and he has so many memories coming back as he meets people backstage. As we have seen with others, we get an Austin highlight package and the crowd reactions he got in his peak were just different from anything you see today.

-Over to The Manhattan Center and a cool moment with Shawn and Taker meeting. They are the O.G.s and Shawn says everyone else was smart enough to get out of there.

-5:45 PM: Waltman is walking the streets with his dog as he is looking for a barber to get a haircut and shave his beard. He finds a local place that get’s a free plug (probably in exchange for letting cameras roll) and gets all ready for the show.

-The fans start pouring into the Manhattan Center and we hear from them with one saying this will be the place where the most hardcore fans will be. It is a chaotic and crazy scene with the amount of energy in the building. Lawler and JR open the show and as they talk they keeping cutting to the production trucks which are bouncing feeds back and forth between the two arenas.

-Over at Barclays, we see Steph in the ring and she brings out Vince McMahon. I can’t help but laugh as he struts from Gorilla to the ring and goes from conquering babyface receiving cheers to evil McMahon taking all the glory. Cue Stone Cold and the crowd goes insane . We get a video package of the various Austin/McMahon moments. Vince was great here as he offers up Shane as a sacrificial lamb since due to him being younger. After Shane eats a Stunner, Vince and Austin share a beer and a hug. The payoff comes as Austin can’t help himself and Vince takes a Stunner.

-The Miz says moments like this make him feel like a kid again and Rollins says the Austin/McMahon rivalry was the best thing ever. Elias also felt like a kid and Angle says it was the perfect segment. Vince and Shane come through gorilla looking like they had the time of their life. Shane mentions that he had goosebumps and it was special to be out there on this show with his family. A sweet moment of him and Steph hugging. Austin gets praise from Cena backstage which is fantastic as we don’t get much interaction between those two. It’s weird how the standard bearers for the different eras from the WWE don’t cross with each other often. Hogan/Austin have only been in the ring a handful of times and I am drawing a blank on anything Austin/Cena. Some with throw Rock in their and bring up he has worked all 3 at Mania, but no matter how awesome The Rock is, Austin will always be the main cog in The Attitude Era. As Hogan was in his era and Cena has been during his.

-Manhattan Center next as they hype the return of The Undertaker. Hearing the production say “Two, One ready for Gong,” is amazing! The Fink introducing Taker just feels right and the crowd is thrilled to see The Dead Man. He cuts his rambling promo which reports say he was thrown off guard by how small the building was. A nice touch as they show Cena watching the promo from Barclays in some foreshadowing. Now Taker gets the highlight package and I am shocked they show Austin being “crucified” on Taker’s symbol (remember it wasn’t a cross).

-Jericho is here and he talks about how he had to be here, but he wanted something low key like being backstage. His interaction with Elias was perfect and they again cut to Cena watching on a monitor. Jericho wanted to leave the fans wanting more and he thinks they accomplished that tonight.

-Elias is told by a PA that he has to get moving and seeing him run frantic to get to his cue just shows how crazy things can be with live TV. He marks out over having a major moment on RAW 25 with Jericho, Jimmy Fallon, and John Cena. At some point he will be able to look back and reflect on the moment.

-IC Title Match next and Cole mentions that the title has changed hands 51 times on RAW. Also remember that title was inactive for a period so that is a ton of changes on free TV over the course of the shows run. Just due to the nature of the gimmick I assume the Hardcore Title may have more changes, but I leave that to others to check. The crowd pops huge for Miz taking the Title from Reigns. The Miz says once he won the match his eyes started to water and he had to tell himself not to cry. You have to love the passion from The Miz and how much things like this mean to him. He brings up the fact that he was cheered for winning a title and thinks maybe he did get some respect tonight.

-After his match he is informed that he is being rushed to The Manhattan Center. He isn’t sure how they will get there in time due to traffic and his phone starts blowing up with officials asking if he is on his way. This all seems to be last minute (or it is just coming off that way) and I think some of this was to help calm the crowd that was on the verge of causing a riot. He has no clue what he is doing as he walks through the lobby and gets put in an elevator. He is told to just go out there and have fun. He loved having his celebration at The Manhattan Center and loved soaking in the cheers. Miz cuts a babyface promo and talks about the importance of the IC Title and how he was pissed when it was downgraded. For two years he has made the title prestigious and awesome. Miz knows he had the respect of the fans in the Manhattan Center as they are the hardcore fans. He calls it one of the coolest moments of his career and then runs into Razor Ramon.

-DX reunion is next for The Manhattan Center and that seemed like a fun time. The people who put this show together (WWE 24) are on their game as they keep cutting back and forth between Waltman now and back as the 1-2-3 Kid with the fans chanting “1-2-3.” Balor and The Club are out and we get “Too Sweet” chants and the two factions celebrate together. Balor marks out as he talks about how insane this would have been if you had told his 15 year old self.

-We are reaching the end and as expected nothing about the pissed off crowd at The Manhattan Center but that wasn’t the purpose of this show. The closing video package is fantastic as you would expect. We see some of the off camera stuff that happened at The Manhattan Center with the Miz cutting a promo on The Balor Club/DX and eating a Blackout from Rollins. Bayley marks out over seeing Christian as she is a Peep and he is apparently a hugger. The last image is Austin chugging a beer and that is a perfect ending.

-WWE 24 is always a good show and this was no exception. I am a sucker for seeing what happens backstage and what the guys are girls do before and after shows. I am full aware that even seeing backstage we are only seeing what the WWE wants us to see, but it’s still cool. The Miz, Waltman, and Jericho made for great subjects to follow and there was enough touching on everyone else to make this a show that everyone should check out at least once. I am sure this will pop up on a DVD release at some point (assuming the DVD division isn’t killed off). Fun show!