https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS4o4ldqPGk Okay, so the first episode of Raw isn't exactly state of the art wrestling by today's standards, but there's no denying how important it was to changing the wrestling landscape forever. Watching that episode now, it's amazing to see how times have changed. Back then, we had to get our WWF wrestling fix in one hour a week. Somehow it grew from 60 minutes to the bloated three hour weekly editions now. Don't forget to add in a two hour SmackDown, a Main Event episode, and nine more pay-per-views a year. Even though the action wasn't always great during those first few years, what happened often felt more important, because it was rarer to see your favorite stars. If you go back and watch the first episode of Raw, it seems tame and cartoonish compared to today's product (well, besides acts like Los Matadores). But at the time, it drastically shook up the way wrestling shows were presented. Traditionally, promos and matches were taped far ahead of time, and then aired at a later date on TV. Raw was now airing live every single week from the Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center Studios (at least it was live for the first few years anyway), which was unprecedented. The in-ring action that first episode wasn't fantastic, but again, it was live and it was free. We had Yokozuna defeating Koko B. Ware, Shawn Michaels pinning Max Moon in an Intercontinental Title match, and The Undertaker dominating Damien Demento. The second and third weeks of the show proved to be even more entertaining (with a Mr. Perfect vs. Terry Taylor match and a Perfect vs. Ric Flair loser leaves town match in the following episodes), but it was that first night that got things off the ground, excited the wrestling world and proved to be groundbreaking.
As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at."
Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week.
Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com
