Raw 25: When a Nostalgic WWE Celebration Took a Chaotic Turn

WWE’s 25th anniversary edition of Monday Night Raw, held in January 2018, aimed to honor the demonstrate’s rich history with a grand celebration. The special broadcast unfolded across two New York City venues: the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and a return to the Manhattan Center, the very location where the first episode of Raw aired in 1993.[1] However, the experience for fans at the Manhattan Center quickly devolved into frustration.

A Night of Disappointment for Manhattan Center Attendees

Former WWE star Mustafa Ali recently recounted the events of that night on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast, detailing how the crowd at the Manhattan Center grew increasingly displeased as they realized the event would largely consist of appearances and short promos from WWE legends, rather than actual matches.[1] Many fans had purchased expensive tickets expecting a full wrestling card.

“It was when Raw was doing the Barclays Center and the Manhattan Center at the same time,” Ali explained. “There’s a bunch of people that have paid a lot of money to attend this event. But here’s the problem that they didn’t plan, there was no actual matches there. It was just legends coming out and cutting a promo. So about almost an hour into it, the fans start realizing, ‘Hey, we got jibbed.’ There’s no matches, and they start booing recklessly.”

Triple H’s Quick Response and a Cruiserweight Rescue

The atmosphere inside the Manhattan Center quickly turned hostile, prompting WWE officials to take action. Ali recalled that Triple H, who was overseeing operations at the venue, immediately contacted the Barclays Center to request matches.

“So Triple H is at the Manhattan Center. He gets on the phone, and he calls over Barclays, and he goes, ‘I need matches, and I need them now,’” Ali said. “So Mark Carrano goes, ‘I know, the cruiserweights!’ So he stuffs a bunch of cruiserweights into a van, and just sends us blindly to Manhattan Center.”

A frantic rush ensued as performers were transported to the Manhattan Center to appease the restless crowd. Ali, along with Lince Dorado, found themselves in the middle of the chaos.

“Hideo Itami is driving, I don’t know,” Ali joked. “So we’re running upstairs and everyone’s panicking, go, go, go, upstairs. Go upstairs. We’re running with our gear, because we’re all coming from Barclays. And Triple H goes, ‘Situation – there’s no matches during the commercial break. I just need you guys to go out there and do the craziest s**t for two or three minutes.’”

An Unexpected Encounter with The Undertaker

In their haste to reach the ring, Ali and Dorado accidentally wandered into The Undertaker’s private locker room.

“All right, cool. So I was wrestling Lince Dorado, and we run upstairs, we have our bags, so we just open this door and we throw our bags down,” Ali said. “The referee comes up and goes, ‘Hey guys, where are you changing?’ ‘Right here.’ And then we glance up – private locker room for The Undertaker.”

To their surprise, The Undertaker welcomed the two cruiserweights and engaged them in conversation.

“Open the door sheepishly, me and Lince, ‘Hello, sir. I’m Ali, this is Lince. Huge mistake. We’re just gonna grab our bags and abandon,’” Ali recalled. “We go to reach for our bags, and he goes, ‘Hey, you guys don’t want to hang out with the motherf**king Undertaker?’ Before I could say anything Lince goes ‘Hell yeah!’”

Ali described a surprisingly casual conversation with the legendary wrestler, discussing their past careers – Ali as a former police officer and Dorado as a former teacher.

“We’re changing. He’s asking us about life,” Ali said. “I told him I was a former police officer. He was like, ‘Oh s**t.’ Lince was a former teacher. So he’s like, ‘Isn’t that crazy?’ We’re talking to The Undertaker about life, and then we kind of forgot that we had to go.”

A Quick Match to Calm the Crowd

Eventually, Ali and Dorado performed a short match for the Manhattan Center audience, bringing a temporary resolution to the chaotic situation. The night remains a memorable, albeit unusual, experience for all involved.

“We just ran out and did our match up,” Ali added. “And then, yeah, it was just one of those wild experiences.”