5 key talking points from WWE Raw (19 February, 2018)

WWE Raw is all about memorable moments, and it’s fair to say nobody is going to forget the 19 February 2018 episode of the show in a hurry.

The first two hours were taken up by a record-breaking gauntlet match which divided fans on social media, with some thinking it went on far too long and others feeling it was the perfect way to set up Sunday’s Elimination Chamber match.

The final hour featured promos from Asuka, Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy, plus two tag matches, and whether people liked it or not, the show certainly made for a surprising change to what we’ve come to expect on Monday nights.

In this article, we take a look at five key talking points from the episode.

#5 Longest match in Raw history!

When WWE announced in advance that Monday’s episode of Raw would feature a gauntlet match, one imagined it would last quite a while, maybe taking up the last hour of the show.

We didn’t, however, expect the non-stop seven-man match, involving Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, The Miz and Braun Strowman, to kick off the show and last an incredible 97 minutes from bell to bell, making it the longest match in the history of Raw (even though, technically, it was more than one match).

The previous longest Raw match came in July 2004 when Chris Benoit successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship in a 60-minute Ironman match against Triple H.