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WWE is pulling out all the stops for the 25th-anniversary episode of WWE Raw on 22 January.
Not only will the company’s modern-day Superstars receive the spotlight when The Miz challenges Roman Reigns for the Intercontinental Championship, but it has been announced that over 30 legends will appear on the show.
'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, D-Generation X, Ric Flair, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler and Trish Stratus are among the greats who are lined up to return on the milestone episode, while The Undertaker will make his first appearance on WWE television since he hinted at his retirement at WrestleMania 33.
In this article, we take a look into the future and make five bold predictions about what might happen on the much-anticipated show.
#5 Chris Jericho has a match
Emanating live from two venues, Raw 25 is expected to feature current Superstars at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and returning legends at the Manhattan Center's Grand Ballroom.
Needless to say, having been involved with WWE since his memorable debut segment with The Rock on Monday Night Raw in 1999, Chris Jericho fits into both of those categories.
After his successful recent stint in NJPW, in which he faced Kenny Omega in an instant classic at Wrestle Kingdom 12, would Y2J really return on WWE’s anniversary show just for a brief segment where he can put a couple of people on ‘The List’?
It might not be the boldest prediction, which is why it features fifth on this list, but we wouldn’t be surprised if “The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla” appears at the Barclays Center and dons his wrestling gear once again to take on a WWE Superstar he has never faced before.
Elias, perhaps?
#4 Trish Stratus officially enters the Royal Rumble
When Stephanie McMahon announced on Raw in December 2017 that WWE will have its first-ever women’s Royal Rumble in 2018, fans immediately began to speculate about the surprise entrants that could appear in the match.
The company has revealed that the rules of the women’s match will be exactly like the men’s, meaning there will be 30 entrants and the winner will go on to have a one-on-one match for a major title at WrestleMania.
With 30 women needed and only 19 main-roster women available, that opens up the possibility of multiple legendary female Superstars appearing in the match – and they don’t get much more legendary than Trish Stratus.
The seven-time Women’s champion, an inspiration for many of WWE’s current-day performers, tweeted “where dem boots?” after it was announced that there would be a women’s Royal Rumble, so expect to see a Rumble-related segment with some of the returning female stars.
#3 Eric Bischoff sets up his WWE return
Eric Bischoff, best known as the Executive Producer and President of WCW during the 'Monday Night Wars', had a spell as the villainous Raw General Manager between 2002 and 2005 and he is often linked with a return to WWE.
His latest comments on a potential comeback, from March 2017, were: “There’s a tired, old, overused saying in the business, ‘Never say never’, but I wouldn’t bet on it either.”
Bischoff has made documentary appearances on the WWE Network over the last couple of years but Raw 25 will be the first time he has featured on the company’s flagship show since its 15th anniversary in December 2007.
As the man himself said, we wouldn’t necessarily bet on Bischoff returning full-time. However, with so much dissension between the authority figures on both Raw and SmackDown Live lately, another run with WWE will never be totally out of the question.
#2 The Undertaker announces Royal Rumble appearance
We originally planned to predict that The Undertaker will announce on Raw 25 that he will have one more match, but that’s not really that bold, is it? Instead, let’s try to predict his path of events over the next couple of weeks.
At Raw 25, we reckon he’ll appear from the Manhattan Center – the original home of Monday Night Raw – and he’ll speak about how he main-evented the first-ever episode of Raw against Damien Demento in 1993.
Then, after teasing that WrestleMania 33 was the final in-ring appearance of his WWE career, he’ll announce that he will appear – but not necessarily participate – at the Royal Rumble on 28 January, ultimately setting up a dream match against John Cena.
That would make the Rumble must-watch, as if it isn’t already, and would kick-start the final rivalry of ‘Taker’s iconic career.
#1 Two huge unadvertised legends appear
Considering WWE has announced that over 30 legends will appear on Raw 25, it’s a little surprising that two Superstars on many people’s wrestling Mount Rushmore could potentially miss the show.
Hulk Hogan continues to be linked with a return to WWE – he was released in 2015 after audio emerged of him using racist language – but he tweeted earlier this week that he will "be home watching [Raw 25] and cheering on my friends".
As for The Rock, he has appeared in various surprise segments on Raw over the last few years and has reportedly been asked about making an appearance on 22 January.
With so many announcements over the last couple of weeks, WWE hasn’t left much room for surprise appearances on Raw 25, but you can guarantee there will be huge ovations if either of these two legends come back on the anniversary episode.
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