WWE Raw Goes "Old School"

This past Monday, WWE presented a very special one night only edition of Raw. In what the WWE labeled as "going old school," the arena and feeling of the show resembled the way things were way back when, the beginnings of Raw in 1993, in simpler times. Like the previous three hour Raw specials, many fans went into this with low expectations, not sure of what we were going to get. Would it just be some old legends trying to work matches? Would the divas be dressing up for some stupid gimmick match? Is WWE creative just completely out of ideas? But unlike previous three hour episodes, most recently the Viewer's Choice episode this past summer (in which Nexus debuted), this edition did not disappoint.

But WWE ended up doing an amazing job. I was really impressed with how they went all out. The arena complaetely resembled what a World Wrestling Federation set would have looked like fifteen years ago. From the red, white, and blue ropes, to the banners and turnbuckles emblazoned with the classic WWF block logo, to even the classic steel bar barricades at ringside, the whole show really felt like something special, like there was a decent amount of effort put into it for once. A large amount of WWE legends appeared throughout the night, whether in skits or matches, and were honored properly and treated with the respect that they deserve. There was really never a dull moment.

"Mean" Gene Okerlund was back for his old job as the voice of interviews, complete with the on stage arena interviews as well as backstage plugs. The old inset interviews appeared, tiles in the top left corner of the screen displaying taped messages from the superstars about to compete. Even Jim Ross made an appearance to return to the announce table for Jack Swagger vs. Daniel Bryan! It was great to hear his voice once again, and he hasn't lost a beat. Even with the over the top heel Michael Cole making fun of him, JR still delivered and made the match even better than it was.

I found myself legitimately smiling and laughing at the antics of Iron Sheik and Santino, Mark Henry's return of "Sexual Chocolate," Dusty Rhodes, Goldust and Cody's backstage segment with Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Tatanka, and Ron Simmons, and even Mae Young winning her "match" at 87 years old! It was a great show.

And to top it all off, the show culminated in a classic Piper's Pit, featuring the Hot Rod still at his best, coming to the rescue to help sell Sunday's main event WWE Championship match at Survivor Series. Piper really made John Cena's dilemma seem an important decision, not just for him, but for the history of the business and what the championship stands for.

Though this whole idea was obviously a huge marketing ploy for WWE's brand new line of retro merchandise, they did it the right way, and I didn't care what they were trying to sell me. Hell, I even took advantage of a huge sale they had during the day and caught up on my WWE DVD collection. So I guess the marketing worked as well!

Nevertheless, I was really impressed with the entire show. It made me wonder why WWE stopped some of these things in the first place. The logos, the legends, the music, the atmosphere, it all made me remember why I became a wrestling fan in the first place, and why I still am today. What a show. I really hope WWE takes a lesson from the positive reaction from this show and continue to do things like this in the future.

The next three hour special is right around the corner, featuring the return of the King of the Ring tournament for one night only. Here's hoping it's just as good!