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What's the story?
WWE announced that the massive Raw 25 show is going to be even bigger as Renee Young will host a Kick-off Show on the WWE Network an hour before the start time of Monday Night Raw with David Otunga and Peter Rosenberg as the guest analysts.
In case you didn't know...
Just as the Intercontinental Championship will be defended on Raw 25 when Roman Reigns takes on The Miz, the same title was defended on the very first edition of Monday Night Raw on 11 January 1993, when champion Shawn Michaels took on Max Moon.
Though Max Moon didn't make a name for himself in the WWF, he did later on as Konnan in WCW and other promotions.
The heart of the matter
For those who are not subscribed to the WWE Network, there will be other avenues to watch the Kick-off Show before Raw 25 starts on the USA Network. The Kick-off Show can also be viewed on WWE.com, the WWE app, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
According to the WWE.com article, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler will check in from the Manhattan Center during the Kick-off Show as well. The Manhattan Center was the first home for Monday Night Raw from 1993 to 1997. After that point, the WWE would take Raw on the road around the United States.
The list continues to grow by the minute for Raw 25, and some of the top stars appearing include Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Trish Stratus, Eric Bischoff, and the return of Chris Jericho just a couple of weeks after Wrestle Kingdom 12.
What's next?
Raw 25 is just a few days away when it takes place simultaneously at the Manhattan Center and Barclays Center in New York City on 22 January. More former WWF and WWE Superstars can potentially be announced.
Author's take
Now it truly feels like a pay per view with the addition of a Kick-off Show to Raw 25. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if there is an edition of Raw Talk after the show either.
The anticipation of this show is very high, and it has the potential to surpass four million viewers on the USA Network for the first time since the Raw after WrestleMania 32 in 2016.
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