What to Expect from Raw Old School Based on Past Shows

Tonight sees the return of Raw Old School, WWE's celebration of the past.  

In addition to bringing back older stars the way they do for other special editions of Raw, older versions of the ring, banners, entrance set, graphics, etc. are all used.  They're always a lot of fun and a nice change of pace.  With a longer than usual six week break between pay-per-view events (the same as the break between Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania), now is a good time to do it.

The look of the show is somewhere between a late-'80s taping of Superstars of Wrestling and a mid-'90s episode of Raw.  The tiniest details are in the time warp, with the referees (powder blue shirts with bow ties) and announcers' outfits made to match the aesthetic.

Yeah, some of it is just window-dressing, and if you're a younger fan who didn't watch until after 1997, it's not going to make you all tingly and nostalgic.  That's not all there is to the shows, though.

Older stars are brought back in various forms—we may see some kind of legends' battle royal or other guest appearances, perhaps wrestling preliminary level heels like 3MB.

That's scratching the surface, though, so let's take a look at a few segments of note from past shows:

On the first show, they brought back the old interview podium for Gene Okerlund to do his thing.  Since it was Raw Old School, Bob Orton Jr. (with his trusty cast) came out to speak on behalf of his son Randy.  John Cena spoke from backstage, I guess so we'd boo him for not coming out to the podium.

Last year, the New Age Outlaws returned to to wrestle Primo and Epico, who are now under masks as Los Matadores.  It was a very fun showcase for the Outlaws, who hadn't teamed up in WWE for over a decade.

There's a lot more, as WWE has to keep a delicate balance between novelty and ongoing storylines.  Still, this should give you a good taste of what to expect tonight.  Have a favorite Raw Old School moment?  Let us know in the comments.

David Bixenspan has been Bleacher Report's WWE Team Leader and a contracted columnist since 2011. You can follow him on Twitter @davidbix and check out his wrestling podcasts at LLTPod.com.

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