WWE RAW 25: A Look Back at Raw’s First Episode

As WWE Raw celebrates its 25 anniversary, a look back to the first episode of Monday Night Raw reveals many things that have changed, but also many things that have stayed the same.

On January 11, 1993, WWE Monday Night Raw debuted on the USA Network, replacing the long time show WWE Prime Time Wrestling. At the time, this marked a change in direction from the Hulk Hogan centric WWF from the 1980s to something that they later dubbed as the “New Generation” after Hogan left for WCW in 1994. This week, Raw celebrates it’s 25th anniversary with Raw 25.

Some of the early episodes of Raw were live, though the product eventually started taping several episodes in advance due to financial constraints. This marked a change in how WWE produced its television product, where most of what was on TV was pretaped. Raw, on the other hand, featured commentary from ringside, and many of the angles and stories were told from promos in front of the live audience, rather than a pretaped backstage one.

Raw also saw the introduction of several big matches that would normally be on pay-per-view, such as the Loser Leaves Town match between Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect on Raw’s third episode. While not every episode featured those kind of main events, this was a big change from the traditional squash match oriented television.

The Matches

As far as in ring action goes, the first episode of Raw featured nothing special. The very first match in Raw history was a squash match between Koko B. Ware and Yokozuna, which was a sign of things to come, as Yokozuna would dominate the main event scene in the WWF for most of 1993 and into 1994.

The second match featured The Steiner Brothers defeating The Executioners in quick fashion. A very fun squash match that featured The Steiners destroying their opponents.

The third match ended up being the best on the show. Shawn Michaels successfully defended his Intercontinental title against Max Moon. This comes as no surprise, as the best matches in WWE at this time often involved Shawn or the then WWF Champion, Bret Hart. It’s always a joy to go back and watch him move towards becoming the Mr. WrestleMania we all know and love.

The main event of the show featured Damien Demento wrestling against The Undertaker. A quick match in which Undertaker destroyed Demento. When the bell tolled, the crowd went insane. A similar reaction will likely happen when it hits again on Raw 25. It seems appropriate that the most enduring figure in WWE’s history would be involved in the first episode of it’s most important television show, and will also be  involved in Raw 25.

The Angles

More from Raw

• WWE Raw Predictions: Seth Rollins Will BURY Jey Uso
• Three feuds for CM Punk on WWE Monday Night Raw
• Three candidates to take the Women’s World Championship from Rhea Ripley
• WWE Raw Predictions: LA Knight Will Return The Favor To Cody Rhodes
• Why Drew McIntyre turned heel during WWE Monday Night Raw

The show featured several simple, but enjoyable angles that had a good mix of serious storytelling and entertaining comedy.

Our first scene featured Sean Mooney outside of the Manhattan Center as Bobby Heenan tried to get inside. Heenan tried to get in multiple times via various shenanigans. He dressed up as Rob Bartlett’s aunt, and as an Amish man.

The closing scenes of the show featured Heenan finally being allowed in as the credits rolled. As always, Bobby Heenan proves to be one of the funniest men in wrestling, always finding ways to keep the fans entertained.

We also saw promos for the upcoming Royal Rumble that featured a title match between Razor Ramon and Bret Hart. This established that WWE was moving away from Hogan as top draw, and beginning to focus on Bret Hart. This shift in focus happened because of the well documented Steroid Trial that Vince McMahon was going through, starting in 1991. Reading through The Wrestling Observer’s coverage of that trial is illuminating and shows why this shift in direction happened, although it wouldn’t be until the middle of 1993 that Hogan left the company.

We also saw the debut of Doink the Clown as a villainous clown that enjoyed making children cry. In retrospect, a terrible character, but at the time, if handled correctly, could have made for a good midcard villain. This eventually lost steam when Doink turned babyface and became essentially a jobber to the stars.

Next: Will Roman Reigns Remain Intercontinental Champion?

The More Things Change… Raw 25 in Perspective

As the Raw 25 celebration draws near, we see that the more things change, the more they stay the same. As Undertaker closed the show on the first episode of Raw, it is possible that he will close Raw 25. Will Undertaker announce his retirement? What about John Cena challenging him to a match at WrestleMania? Will he enter the Royal Rumble? There are many questions concerning his appearance. However, it seems appropriate that the person who wrestled the main event of the first episode of Raw 25 years ago will be involved in one of the most anticipated segments of the upcoming show on Monday. What will happen? Time will tell.