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 sa国际传媒淪tone Coldsa国际传媒� 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, sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� revolutionized wrestling and made the sa国际传媒� sport? sa国际传媒� hip again. sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� billed itself as an uncooked, uncut and uncensored slice of sports entertainment, and for most of its 25 years, sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� has delivered the wacky and the wild for more than 3 million viewers each week; whether itsa国际传媒檚 Braun Strowman flipping over a semi-truck or Brian Pillman pulling a gun on Austin .
Led by WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� 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!"
sa国际传媒� WWE (@WWE)
sa国际传媒淚 remember being in the office and Vince talking about going live and moving this forward,sa国际传媒� 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 sa国际传媒淧rime Time Wrestlingsa国际传媒� debuted on USA on Jan. 1, 1985.
The weekly taped wrestling shows mostly went down for the three count.
sa国际传媒�(McMahon) called it a new breath or a new life for the wrestling business,sa国际传媒� Hogan said. sa国际传媒淥nce we went live and people got used to the live vibe, taped shows would be a dinosaur.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� chugged along as a solid cable performer until rival WCW unleashed sa国际传媒淢onday Nitrosa国际传媒� in 1995 and soon beat WWE at its own game, winning the ratings battle in what was called the sa国际传媒淢onday Night Warssa国际传媒� 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 sa国际传媒淭he Rocksa国际传媒� Johnson that spiked the show into new heights.
WCW would go out business when WWE bought the scraps of the company in 2001.
sa国际传媒淵ou cansa国际传媒檛 beat someone at their own game when they are the game,sa国际传媒� Hogan said.
Triple H would surely agree.
The 72-year-old McMahon, who morphed from an original sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� announcer to the showsa国际传媒檚 top bad guy, has starred in the most memorable storylines for the dominant company in the industry.
sa国际传媒淗e doesnsa国际传媒檛 like to take credit for it, but Vince is the guiding force of that,sa国际传媒� WWE executive Paul sa国际传媒淭riple Hsa国际传媒� Levesque said. sa国际传媒淗esa国际传媒檚 never afraid to take that risk. He never feels like he knows the answers.sa国际传媒�
Trying to find the answer for the greatest moment in sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒檚: 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 Punksa国际传媒檚 pipebomb . Sabusa国际传媒檚 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 sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� in 2009 from McMahon.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 going to do stuff thatsa国际传媒檚 never been done before, never been seen before,sa国际传媒� Trump said. sa国际传媒淧eople have been watching Raw for 17 years and they deserve something special. Yousa国际传媒檝e made a lot of money off these people. Itsa国际传媒檚 about time you give back. Like our president says, sa国际传媒楪ive back.sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒�
Trumpsa国际传媒檚 reign of terror on sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� lasted less than four years. He, ahem, sold sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� back to McMahon the following week for twice the price.
Even the sa国际传媒淢illion Dollar Mansa国际传媒� 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: sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒檚sa国际传媒� 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.
sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� has even sprouted branches on the family tree.
WWE champion Charlotte Flair was just a teenager for her sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� debut. Look closely, and Flair can be spotted in the stands during a womensa国际传媒檚 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 Flairsa国际传媒檚 farewell retirement speech.
She made her debut as a wrestler on the show in 2015 sa国际传媒� complete with a strut and gold her around waist, just like The Nature Boy.
sa国际传媒淭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,sa国际传媒� Charlotte Flair said.
Michaels could fill a few hours on the WWE Network with sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� highlights: His 2009 bout in London vs. Cena, regarded as sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒檚sa国际传媒� 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 sa国际传媒淩aw.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淭he first sa国际传媒楻awsa国际传媒� was the genesis, the nucleus, of everything thatsa国际传媒檚 ever gone on in WWE,sa国际传媒� Michaels said. sa国际传媒淣one of us had any idea at that time what we were about to embark on.sa国际传媒�
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 sa国际传媒淩awsa国际传媒� on Mondays on Fox with highlight shows and auxiliary programming on FS1, much like UFC does now.
sa国际传媒淚 can tell you that WWE is uniquely positioned so whatever way it goes, whatever way our fans are telling us to go, wesa国际传媒檙e there,sa国际传媒� 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 McMahonsa国际传媒檚 way of running WWE.
sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 think theresa国际传媒檚 any sense of change,sa国际传媒� Levesque said. sa国际传媒淚f anybody thinks theysa国际传媒檙e going to push him out or take this thing, theresa国际传媒檚 going to be a hell of a fight.sa国际传媒�
If there is, what better place to show it than Monday nights on sa国际传媒淩aw.sa国际传媒�
Dan Gelston, The Associated Press
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