WWE: RAW 25 Pre-Show, Hart Foundation, Samoa Joe Update, Network

WWE to Hold One Hour Pre-Show for RAW’s 25th Anniversary

Over the course of the past several weeks, WWE has been gradually revealing the names of former WWE stars who will be making appearances at next week’s RAW 25th anniversary show at the Barclays Center and Manhattan Center in New York.

As part of the show’s festivities, WWE recently announced they will be holding a one hour pre-show at 7PM EST on the WWE Network, WWE.com, and on some of their social media platforms. The pre-show will occur at the Barclays Center with Renee Young, Peter Rosenberg, David Otunga, and Sam Roberts as the hosts. Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross were also announced to be making appearances on the pre-show from the Manhattan Center.

Bret Hart Wants Hart Foundation Included for This Year’s Hall of Fame Class for a Special Reason

Bret Hart is currently pushing for the WWE to induct the Hart Foundation as part of this year’s Hall of Fame class, according to the Wrestling Observer.

The Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported Hart has been pushing WWE officials on the idea to induct the Hart Foundation out of respect for Jim Neidhart who is currently battling serious health issues. Hart feels Neidhart’s time is starting to run out and wants Neidhart to be able to enjoy participating in the festivities while he still can at this stage of his life.

Update on Samoa Joe’s Injury Status

As previously reported, Samoa Joe suffered a foot injury during a match against Rhyno on the January 8th episode of RAW.

In an update to this situation, Samoa Joe’s injury is currently believed to be worse than originally expected, according to this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported WWE officials originally believed Joe would only be out for a few weeks at most but now expect him to be out till at least mid-March as the best case scenario. Joe was recently pulled from all previously scheduled events including the March 16th RAW house show in Madison Square Garden.

WWE Currently Planning to Add WCW Thunder and WWWF TV shows to the WWE Network

WWE is currently expected to add classic episodes of WCW Thunder and WWWF TV to the vault section of the WWE Network during this year, according to PWInsider.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported WWE was originally planning to add Coliseum Home Videos to the vault but have likely shelved those plans in favor of adding previously delayed WCW Thunder episodes to the Network instead. WWE originally had plans to add WCW Thunder to the Network several months ago but those were put on hold due to the lawsuit filed by Raven and Buff Bagwell at the time. Johnson also reported WWE is currently planning to add classic episodes from WWWF TV later this year.