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WNS Column: The Lasting Legacy of Monday Night Raw
Posted By: Caylon Knox on Jan 22, 2018
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The history of WWE Monday Night Raw has been well-documented. From its rather humble beginnings in the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center, to the legendary Monday Night War against WCW's Monday Nitro, to the Ruthless Aggression Era, to the PG era, to the current "New" Era, Monday Night Raw has been the flagship program of World Wrestling Entertainment since January 11, 1993.
More so than any other professional wrestling program in history, Monday Night Raw has been the platform where promising talents become globally-recognized Superstars. Historically speaking, WWE's performers have truly had to bring their "A" Game to Raw, due to the live nature of the program. There is no editing, there are no retakes. A good performance increases a Superstar's value, both in the eyes of the fans and in the eyes of WWE officials. On the other hand, mistakes and botches cannot be erased or covered up. On Monday Night Raw, the whole world is watching, and it's sink or swim. Do or die.
For better or worse, Monday Night Raw is the face of not only WWE programming, but for all of American professional wrestling in general. When something big happens on Raw, it's newsworthy. A major event on Raw will often get a wide range of media coverage, especially if it's a surprise return or an emotional retirement.
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Raw has also been subjected to its share of controversy over the years, particularly during the Attitude Era, and even during the Ruthless Aggression Era. Risque and taboo storylines and characters such as Goldust, D-Generation X, Val Venis, The Godfather, scantily-clad female Superstars, and even the infamous Katie Vick storyline between Kane and Triple H back in 2002, are all part of Raw history.
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Monday Night Raw is the show that all other wrestling programs - past, present and future - are compared to. Whether it's WWE's other weekly programs such as SmackDown Live, NXT, 205 Live and Main Event, or weekly programs from other wrestling promotions like Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Impact Wrestling. WWE is unquestionably the industry leader in all of professional wrestling/sports-entertainment, and Monday Night Raw is at the forefront of it all.
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And not only has Raw had a huge impact on the wrestling industry, but as WWE always likes to remind its viewers, Monday Night Raw is indeed "one of the longest-running weekly episodic programs in television history." It's also noteworthy that unlike most other programs, WWE does not have any sort of an off-season. There are no breaks or reruns in-between the seasons.
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WWE has produced nearly 1,300 episodes of Raw since the show premiered in 1993. Ever since the 1,000th episode in July of 2012, Raw has been three hours long every single week. That's three whole hours of brand new matches, storylines, and segments that have to be written and planned out every single week for a live television broadcast!
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Tonight, WWE celebrates 25 years of Monday Night Raw. Many WWE legends and Hall of Famers will be in attendance. It will be interesting to see what might come out of tonight's edition of Raw, as there have been rumors for months now that tonight's Raw could lead to at least one major WrestleMania match-up.
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Perhaps the most intriguing element of tonight's broadcast will be the appearance from the leader of the WWE roster for so many years now, the legendary and iconic Undertaker. What does his future hold after his loss to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33 back in April? Is "The Dead Man" finally finished? Will WWE's "Last Outlaw" finally be riding off into the sunset? Or does the mythological gunfighter have one last epic battle left in him?
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One thing is for certain: tonight's show is going to be not only a "must-see", but a "can't-miss" episode of Monday Night Raw!
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