On January 11, 1993, the face of pro-wrestling changed forever, thanks to a program called Monday Night Raw. Twenty-five years and more than a thousand episodes later, the WWE will celebrate RAW 25 on Jan. 22 in a giant extravaganza too big for just one arena. The show will broadcast one hour from New York City’s Manhattan Center — the site of the first-ever RAW, per Variety — while the rest of the show will take place at the Barclays Center in neighboring Brooklyn. Superstars from the past and present will be on hand to celebrate, and Stephanie McMahon, 41, suggested that the red brand won’t escape the night without a splash of neon green.
“Monday Night Raw is really the longest, weekly episodic television program in US history,” Stephanie EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife.com during the 2018 Television Critics Association press tour. She was joined by Triple H, 48, Shawn Michaels, 52, (collectively known as D-Generation X) The Miz, 37, and Mark Henry, 46, to discuss the upcoming milestone. “That’s pretty amazing in terms of history making.”
“52 weeks a year, no off-season,” Triple H, WWE’s current Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative, interjected. “And it’s three hours live every Monday night,” Stephanie emphasized. “In essence, it’s a mini movie every single Monday night. And when you think about the stories that were able to tell, you know, WWE is really no different than any television show that you’ve heard about.
“It’s protagonist versus antagonist, with conflict resolution,” Stephanie told HollywoodLife.com. “The only difference is that our conflicts are settled inside a 20 by 20 foot-square ring with some of the greatest live action that you can see on television or any form of entertainment. And in terms of surprises for the 25th anniversary, well, you’re going to have to tune in. But let’s just say DX may have a couple tricks up their sleeves.”
D-Generation X, known for their in-your-face, anti-authority behavior (and less-than subtle sexual innuendos — after all, this is the group that got million to chant “Suck It” while doing their trademark “crotch-chop”) helped skyrocket the WWE back into mainstream pop culture during the “Attitude Era.” With Shawn and Triple H’s fellow DX members The New Age Outlaws also scheduled to appear, it’ll be interesting to see what happens.
“From a historic standpoint,” Triple H told HollywoodLife.com, ”even just the fact that it’s being simulcast from two locations, the Manhattan Center… and the Barclays Center, two locations, same time, people going back and forth, it will be an epic evening. And it goes all the way from start through today. Shawn was in the very first episode at that Manhattan Center.”
“You just aged him,” The Miz chimed in.
“The ghost of Christmas past,” Shawn added.
“Yeah. And he’s still here,” said Triple H.
“I was in high school, just for the record,” said Stephanie.
“But I think when you say that and you span all those moments and to me, Raw not only is a show that has lasted that duration, it’s culturally been significant in that it has changed, I believe, the way that television is viewed,” said Triple H added. “Go back before it. You didn’t see politicians walking down a hallway with entrance music playing as if they were about to step into the ring at Madison Square Garden. It has changed the way we see live event television. It has changed the way the NFL is shot, the NBA is shot, the way they do their talent packages, the rollout of their performers onto a stage. If you go to an NBA game and you see them come out with pyro and music and end zone celebrations and all of it, it all stems from Monday Night Raw and that showcase, that sort of culturally, significantly changed and, over that 25 years, has changed along with it but has significantly changed the landscape of television.”
RAW 25 looks to change the landscape of television yet again. Fans can tune in at 7:00 PM ET on the WWE Network for the WWE Raw 25 pre-show. The big event kicks off at 8:00 PM ET on the USA Network.
Also take a look at Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and The New Day do a hilariously inspired Lip Sync Battle on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
HollywoodLifers, are you excited for Raw 25?