THEY say never go back. They also say nostalgia is not what is used to be.
For a start, never listen to ‘they’. They make about as much sense as Booker T in a wind tunnel.
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I, for one, am delighted to be back. It has been over four years since I last wrote for the Sun Online, where I was the wrestling reporter for nearly seven years.
I went to Wrestlemania, numerous Raw and Smackdown tapings, interviewed over 20 World champions…I’ve even worn Chris Jericho’s light-up jacket (although he doesn’t know that.)
Fitting, perhaps, that upon my return the buzz in the wrestling world is for RAW25, as WWE prepares to celebrate a quarter of a century of their flagship show.
Some of you are perhaps young enough to have never known a world without Raw on a Monday night.
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I was approaching nine years old when Raw began. We did not have it on Sky to begin with.
We had to make do with highlights introduced by Todd Pettengill on WWF Mania on a Saturday morning.
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Superstars was Saturday night, Challenge on Sunday mornings. And if you missed it, you missed it. No DVRs back then.
Eventually, we could watch the full Raw shows, but not until Friday evening.
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In fact, we had our own Friday night war – you could watch WCW on TNT, after Cartoon Network went off air, then Raw on Sky Sports afterwards.
The technology and wrestling we have to hand now is frightening.
You can watch independent wrestling on phone apps, catch the latest shows easily at any time, and watch 1000s of hours of historical action on the brilliant WWE Network.
But is it too much? Do not get me wrong, I am hugely grateful to be able to recall the wrestling of my childhood (I have Royal Rumble 1993 on as I type this) and do so on a regular basis.
But it is easy to get sucked in to a world of ‘I miss the old days’.
Yes, there are things about wrestling past I miss. Certain characters, methods of storytelling, maybe the simplicity of heroes and villains that elicited reactions where the audience didn’t think the show was about them.
But many things now are irreplaceable. High-definition production, content that goes far beyond the bell to bell action, and importantly a world full of amazingly talented athletes that I do not believe we have ever seen the like of.
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The year 2017 was a magnificent one for in-ring action.
WWE’s three-hour Raw format allows for better weekly matches, their continued excellence in NXT offers a different by no less compelling style, New Japan is as hot as ever, and British Wrestling continues its astonishing resurgence apace.
On Monday, there will be a huge temptation to watch a bunch of former stars return home.
From Brother Love to MVP, Michelle McCool to Trish Stratus, The Boogeyman to The Undertaker, it should be a great nostalgia-fest.
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In a very cool move, part of Raw will emanate from the Manhattan Center, where legends Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler will commentate. Expect comedy moments, classic clips, shocking cameos.
And you should enjoy every minute. Raw has been a very consistent show when you study its history, and walks down memory lane are fun.
Don’t get sucked into the trap, though, of remembering everything with glasses more rose-tinted than those that Bret Hart would hand to kids in the front row.
Yes, there are characters that came along as wowed us.
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Steve Austin and The Rock can never be replicated, and neither can the weekly excitement of just how far WWE would push the envelope during the attitude era.
Here’s the thing though – there was some trash in that era, too. For every Austin v McMahon there was a Boss Man v Big Show; for every Hart Foundation a Truth Commision.
If watching RAW25 leaves you cold, and thinking that you hate today’s stuff and you miss the wrestling of your youth, consider this…
It may just be that you miss your youth.
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