Exclusive News On WWE RAW 25 Format And Plans
There has been a lot of speculation and curiosity about the upcoming 25th anniversary show of Monday Night RAW. The broadcast will hail from two venues on the same night in New York City.
Speaking with sources, I can confirm that the current plan within the three hours airing on USA Network is for approximately 1 hour to come from the Manhattan Center and the other 2 hours from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Manhattan Center was the original site of Monday Night RAW when it premiered in spring of 1993 up until spring of 1997. The one hour at the Manhattan Center isn't planned to be an hour straight however, as it's planned to be broken up throughout the show.
Another question is about the talent and who will appear at what venue. It's expected that The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels will both make appearances at the Manhattan Center, which is fitting since both were part of the first episode of RAW in that venue. However, it's not out of the question that they also make appearances at the Barclays Center sometime in the evening as some Superstars making double appearances is being prepared and written for.
Another aspect of RAW 25 that we've heard from several in the company is that backstage footage is currently being planned to be shot documenting the day. It's thought that capturing the simultaneous venue broadcast and its logistics for the milestone event will be packaged together for the WWE 24 series on the WWE Network.
Several current talent have informed us that they – and others in the locker room – would like to be at the Manhattan Center for the nostalgia experience, since many were fans during that time. But we're learning that the majority of the current full-time roster members will be used at that Barclays Center.