Remembering Deceased Wrestlers Was Handled Brilliantly on Raw's 1000th Episode

Raw's 1000th episode was a great celebration of the WWE's past and the great performers who have stolen the show over those years.

However, this meant that the WWE had to deal with the uncomfortable subject of those wrestlers who had passed away after making an impact on Raw. Several outside influences added pressure to a situation that did not seem to have an easy solution to it.  

WWE officials must have given the situation a lot of thought, as those who had the greatest impact were remembered visually or verbally in brief spurts without the tone of the show becoming too macabre, and also without drawing attention to the number of wrestlers who had died over the years.

These remembrances started from the opening montage where the sadness around Eddie Guerrero's death was encapsulated in a few words and a startling image, while other greats such as Randy Savage, Miss Elizabeth and Yokozuna were highlighted as well.

Later Bret Hart was brought out to be the special ring announcer for the Intercontinental championship match, and the WWE used that as a clever opportunity to remember 'Mr. Perfect' in reference to his great tussles with 'The Hitman'.

No one else's death was brought up specifically during the night, but the WWE did not shy away from memorable events that featured deceased wrestlers.

A great example of this was Big Boss Man, who was heavily featured in the McMahon versus Austin feud and was clearly present in the montage. Attention was not drawn towards Boss Man's image, but neither was he hidden, so the fans could choose to remember or not.

Perhaps the two most notable absentees were Owen Hart and Chris Benoit but neither of these men would be mentioned on air. The ongoing legal dispute with Hart's late wife makes that situation difficult, while Benoit will always remain as a dark stain on wrestling history that will be consigned to ignominy.

Considering the constraints of the situation and the desire to keep the party atmosphere, the WWE did a great job of remembering without losing focus.