Will WWE Raw 25 Effectively Be Able to Juggle Legends and Royal Rumble Hype?

WWE Raw 25 will be an experiment in how much one can cram into a three-hour space.

On Monday, WWE will have to do a masterful job of multitasking. It will commemorate Raw's 25th anniversary with a surplus of big names from the past. The show also marks the final episode before the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Midcard angles, a title bout, reveals, reflection and celebration all have to be on the same docket.

The numbers say Raw isn't going to be able to handle it all effectively. 

The list of guests for Monday's festivities, per WWE.com, is mighty long. Over 30 wrestlers, announcers and managers are headed to New York. And the company isn't going to just limit huge stars like Steve Austin and Undertaker to cameos. 

Factor in past stars taking time to soak up the crowd reaction, segments potentially going over time and any longwinded promos that unfold and suddenly Raw's current roster has little stage to stand on. 

WWE hasn't made it easy on itself, either. Raw will also welcome some SmackDown stars to the mix. As noted in WWE.com's Raw preview, Shane McMahon, Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, Charlotte Flair, The Usos and The New Day from the blue brand will all appear on Monday's show.

The Royal Rumble's top stories will get some spotlight, but the undercard is poised to get shafted in favor of looking back at Raw's history.

WWE is sure to save some space at the table for Brock Lesnar, Kane and Braun Strowman ahead of their battle for the Universal Championship at Sunday's PPV. Lesnar and Kane need to offer a response to Strowman yanking down a steel set into them with a grappling hook two weeks ago. A brawl would do the trick. Even a set of taped interviews would suffice.

Lesnar's name and stature will make sure he gets some airtime however WWE chooses to use it. It's not as if The Beast Incarnate wrestles 10-minute matches or pops up in several segments on any given Raw anyway. 

Enzo Amore and Cedric Alexander, meanwhile, are long shots to do much of anything on Raw 25.

The two cruiserweights are set to collide in Philadelphia on Sunday for the Cruiserweight Championship. The build for that on the upcoming go-home show will be brief at best and non-existent at worst. Their division is not as much of a priority as most things planned for Monday.

Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan's Raw Tag Team Championship defense against Cesaro and Sheamus is likely to get the same treatment. Perhaps Jordan and Rollins interact with one of the Hall of Famers in a quick backstage segment, but we're not getting much in the way of storytelling.

That's not what Raw 25 will be about. It will be a night of big moments, nostalgia pops and an all-star lineup.

So rather than continue to showcase The Revival as a steamrolling squad intent on being champs, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder are probably going to be used as bait in a scene where the Legends feast live on the air.

That's a scenario many, like Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet, won't be surprised by:

One area where the two sides of the Raw coin may merge is the women's Royal Rumble match.

SmackDown barely offered any time to hype that historic bout last week. The women were relegated to a few seconds worth of promo each. Mostly, these wrestlers had time to spit one catchphrase at the camera.

On Raw, though, we are likely to see the Rumble field grow. The big names WWE are bringing in may announce they are joining the fray. Less than 20 female entrants have declared for the 30-woman match, so WWE needs more bodies for that contest.

The Raw preview on WWE.com seemed to tease that some familiar faces would make their mark on it: "What will WWE Legends like Trish Stratus, Torrie Wilson, Jacqueline and Terri Runnels, who will all be in attendance, have to say about this historic match?"

For the most part, though, PPV hype will be of secondary importance. Monday night will be aimed at casual viewers and impressing the TV executives with a nice, fat rating. 

Ongoing narratives will have to bow at the feet of nostalgia for the moment.