The Rock told jabronis to know their role long before he travelled to Jumanji. Batista defended championships before he guarded the galaxy. Steve Austin left losers in his path with B次元官网网址淪tone ColdB次元官网网址� stunners instead of Skullbusters .
Before the trio of WWE stars stretched into other entertainment avenues, they had talked trash, flipped middle fingers, laid the smack down, chugged beer and raised a whole lot of hell on the wildest show on Monday nights.
Betty White , Bob Barker, Bradley Cooper and even Tiny Tim joined the fun inside the squared circle.
Welcome, everyone, to Monday Night Raw!
The WWE flagship show is set to mark its 25th anniversary on Monday with a three-hour bash stuffed with Hall of Famers, Hollywood stars, the Boogeyman, the Bellas and a Brooklyn Brawler.
From its debut on Jan. 11, 1993, B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� revolutionized wrestling and made the B次元官网网址� sport? B次元官网网址� hip again. B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� billed itself as an uncooked, uncut and uncensored slice of sports entertainment, and for most of its 25 years, B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� has delivered the wacky and the wild for more than 3 million viewers each week; whether itB次元官网网址檚 Braun Strowman flipping over a semi-truck or Brian Pillman pulling a gun on Austin .
Led by WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� shook the wresting industry out of its staid Saturday morning ways.
. sends his congratulations on 's 25th Anniversary and wants to remember to "RESPECT the gap!"
B次元官网网址� WWE (@WWE)
B次元官网网址淚 remember being in the office and Vince talking about going live and moving this forward,B次元官网网址� WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan said.
The pro wrestling TV landscape had been mostly one-hour weekend shows mostly filled with noncompetitive matches in which a superstar would flatten some enhancement talent. WWE had been a staple on Monday nights since B次元官网网址淧rime Time WrestlingB次元官网网址� debuted on USA on Jan. 1, 1985.
The weekly taped wrestling shows mostly went down for the three count.
B次元官网网址�(McMahon) called it a new breath or a new life for the wrestling business,B次元官网网址� Hogan said. B次元官网网址淥nce we went live and people got used to the live vibe, taped shows would be a dinosaur.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� chugged along as a solid cable performer until rival WCW unleashed B次元官网网址淢onday NitroB次元官网网址� in 1995 and soon beat WWE at its own game, winning the ratings battle in what was called the B次元官网网址淢onday Night WarsB次元官网网址� for 83 straight weeks.
McMahon, who declined comment to the AP, was forced to steer the show into the Attitude Era , led by a foul-mouthed Austin, a crotch-chopping Degeneration X, and a catchphrase spouting Dwayne B次元官网网址淭he RockB次元官网网址� Johnson that spiked the show into new heights.
WCW would go out business when WWE bought the scraps of the company in 2001.
B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 beat someone at their own game when they are the game,B次元官网网址� Hogan said.
Triple H would surely agree.
The 72-year-old McMahon, who morphed from an original B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� announcer to the showB次元官网网址檚 top bad guy, has starred in the most memorable storylines for the dominant company in the industry.
B次元官网网址淗e doesnB次元官网网址檛 like to take credit for it, but Vince is the guiding force of that,B次元官网网址� WWE executive Paul B次元官网网址淭riple HB次元官网网址� Levesque said. B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 never afraid to take that risk. He never feels like he knows the answers.B次元官网网址�
Trying to find the answer for the greatest moment in B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址檚: history is a bit like trying to pick the perfect PowerBall combination.
At the top of the impossible list, the real-life Ric Flair, Edge and Daniel Bryan retirements that had even the hardest of the hardcore fans reaching for a tissue. Bob Backlund slapping Arnold Skaaland in the crossface chicken wing. CM PunkB次元官网网址檚 pipebomb . SabuB次元官网网址檚 leap off the Raw letters. The villainous stable Nexus that destroyed John Cena and even choked out the ring announcer. Kurt Angle and the milk truck .
And Donald Trump , yes, WWE Hall of Famer and the president, who, ahem, purchased B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� in 2009 from McMahon.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 going to do stuff thatB次元官网网址檚 never been done before, never been seen before,B次元官网网址� Trump said. B次元官网网址淧eople have been watching Raw for 17 years and they deserve something special. YouB次元官网网址檝e made a lot of money off these people. ItB次元官网网址檚 about time you give back. Like our president says, B次元官网网址楪ive back.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
TrumpB次元官网网址檚 reign of terror on B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� lasted less than four years. He, ahem, sold B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� back to McMahon the following week for twice the price.
Even the B次元官网网址淢illion Dollar ManB次元官网网址� Ted DiBiase would have cackled at the swindle.
DiBiase will be in New York on Monday with other WWE Hall of Famers such as Scott Hall, Ron Simmons, Austin, Flair and Shawn Michaels. The Undertaker should be back from the dead to kickstart a feud against Cena for WrestleMania.
The show will have a bit of a WrestleMania 2 feel, airing live from two locations: B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址檚B次元官网网址� original home at the Manhattan Center and the Barclays Center. WWE stars and matches are scheduled at both venues, though the exact format has yet to be disclosed.
Michaels and the Undertaker were on the first show and will serve as bookends for the first and the 1,288th episode.
B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� has even sprouted branches on the family tree.
WWE champion Charlotte Flair was just a teenager for her B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� debut. Look closely, and Flair can be spotted in the stands during a womenB次元官网网址檚 match on a 2004 episode. She was back four years later when she joined her family and other WWE stars in the ring for father Ric FlairB次元官网网址檚 farewell retirement speech.
She made her debut as a wrestler on the show in 2015 B次元官网网址� complete with a strut and gold her around waist, just like The Nature Boy.
B次元官网网址淭he talent has passion for what we do and wants to show up every Monday to give everyone sitting at home the best show possible,B次元官网网址� Charlotte Flair said.
Michaels could fill a few hours on the WWE Network with B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� highlights: His 2009 bout in London vs. Cena, regarded as B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址檚B次元官网网址� greatest match , stripping Mike Tyson down to his DX shirt and collapsing against Owen Hart in a classic 1990s matchup. He wrestled Max Moon on the inaugural B次元官网网址淩aw.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he first B次元官网网址楻awB次元官网网址� was the genesis, the nucleus, of everything thatB次元官网网址檚 ever gone on in WWE,B次元官网网址� Michaels said. B次元官网网址淣one of us had any idea at that time what we were about to embark on.B次元官网网址�
The future may not include the USA Network. The TV rights are up for grabs in late 2019 and WWE as live, weekly content should surely command a big-bucks bidding war in the open market. Imagine B次元官网网址淩awB次元官网网址� on Mondays on Fox with highlight shows and auxiliary programming on FS1, much like UFC does now.
B次元官网网址淚 can tell you that WWE is uniquely positioned so whatever way it goes, whatever way our fans are telling us to go, weB次元官网网址檙e there,B次元官网网址� Levesque said.
McMahon recently sold $100 million of shares to fund his Alpha Entertainment company and could re-launch the XFL. Levesque said outside interests will never get in McMahonB次元官网网址檚 way of running WWE.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think thereB次元官网网址檚 any sense of change,B次元官网网址� Levesque said. B次元官网网址淚f anybody thinks theyB次元官网网址檙e going to push him out or take this thing, thereB次元官网网址檚 going to be a hell of a fight.B次元官网网址�
If there is, what better place to show it than Monday nights on B次元官网网址淩aw.B次元官网网址�
Dan Gelston, The Associated Press
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