In January 2023, WWE’s flagship show Monday Night Raw will celebrate it’s 30th anniversary. The company have now revealed that the show will come live from the Wells Fargo Centre in Philadelphia on January 23rd. The special episode will also serve as the go-home edition of the red brand for the Royal Rumble which is scheduled for January 28th at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Tickets for the 30th anniversary show go on sale on November 11th.
WWE Celebrate 30 Years Of Monday Night Raw
The first episode of WWE Monday Night Raw was broadcast on January 11th 1993, replacing Prime Time Wrestling which had been running for eight years.
The show came live from the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center in New York City and revolutionised the way that wrestling was broadcast to the world. While previous shows had been taped at sound stages in front of small crowds, Raw was a bold step into the future.
While Raw has changed immeasurably in the decades since it’s debut and moved from the Manhattan Center many years ago, the show has returned for special occasions. On January 22nd 2018, the show celebrated it’s 25th anniversary with a special simulcast from the Manhattan Center and the Barclays Center. The portion of the show from the historic venue featured an appearance from The Undertaker.
It had been reported that prior to Vince McMahon stepping down as WWE Chairman there were talks of the show returning to the Manhattan Center, although the company have now gone in a different direction.
There have been a number of Monday Night Raw specials in 2022. In June WWE celebrated John Cena’s 20th anniversary before repeating the trick a month later to mark 20 years since Rey Mysterios debut.
On October 10th the season premiere episode of the red brand featured a DX reunion led by Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac and Road Dogg. Interestingly, Road Dogg recently claimed that his New Age Outlaws partner Billy Gunn was set to appear on the show before being blocked from doing so. Gunn currently works for AEW.