The Rock told jabronis to know their role long before he travelled to Jumanji. Batista defended championships before he guarded the galaxy. Steve Austin left losers in his path with 鈥淪tone Cold鈥� stunners instead of Skullbusters .

Before the trio of WWE stars stretched into other entertainment avenues, they had talked trash, flipped middle fingers, laid the smack down, chugged beer and raised a whole lot of hell on the wildest show on Monday nights.

Betty White , Bob Barker, Bradley Cooper and even Tiny Tim joined the fun inside the squared circle.

Welcome, everyone, to Monday Night Raw!

The WWE flagship show is set to mark its 25th anniversary on Monday with a three-hour bash stuffed with Hall of Famers, Hollywood stars, the Boogeyman, the Bellas and a Brooklyn Brawler.

From its debut on Jan. 11, 1993, 鈥淩aw鈥� revolutionized wrestling and made the 鈥� sport? 鈥� hip again. 鈥淩aw鈥� billed itself as an uncooked, uncut and uncensored slice of sports entertainment, and for most of its 25 years, 鈥淩aw鈥� has delivered the wacky and the wild for more than 3 million viewers each week; whether it鈥檚 Braun Strowman flipping over a semi-truck or Brian Pillman pulling a gun on Austin .

Led by WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, 鈥淩aw鈥� shook the wresting industry out of its staid Saturday morning ways.

. sends his congratulations on 's 25th Anniversary and wants to remember to "RESPECT the gap!"

鈥� WWE (@WWE)

鈥淚 remember being in the office and Vince talking about going live and moving this forward,鈥� WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan said.

The pro wrestling TV landscape had been mostly one-hour weekend shows mostly filled with noncompetitive matches in which a superstar would flatten some enhancement talent. WWE had been a staple on Monday nights since 鈥淧rime Time Wrestling鈥� debuted on USA on Jan. 1, 1985.

The weekly taped wrestling shows mostly went down for the three count.

鈥�(McMahon) called it a new breath or a new life for the wrestling business,鈥� Hogan said. 鈥淥nce we went live and people got used to the live vibe, taped shows would be a dinosaur.鈥�

鈥淩aw鈥� chugged along as a solid cable performer until rival WCW unleashed 鈥淢onday Nitro鈥� in 1995 and soon beat WWE at its own game, winning the ratings battle in what was called the 鈥淢onday Night Wars鈥� for 83 straight weeks.

McMahon, who declined comment to the AP, was forced to steer the show into the Attitude Era , led by a foul-mouthed Austin, a crotch-chopping Degeneration X, and a catchphrase spouting Dwayne 鈥淭he Rock鈥� Johnson that spiked the show into new heights.

WCW would go out business when WWE bought the scraps of the company in 2001.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 beat someone at their own game when they are the game,鈥� Hogan said.

Triple H would surely agree.

The 72-year-old McMahon, who morphed from an original 鈥淩aw鈥� announcer to the show鈥檚 top bad guy, has starred in the most memorable storylines for the dominant company in the industry.

鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 like to take credit for it, but Vince is the guiding force of that,鈥� WWE executive Paul 鈥淭riple H鈥� Levesque said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 never afraid to take that risk. He never feels like he knows the answers.鈥�

Trying to find the answer for the greatest moment in 鈥淩aw鈥檚: history is a bit like trying to pick the perfect PowerBall combination.

At the top of the impossible list, the real-life Ric Flair, Edge and Daniel Bryan retirements that had even the hardest of the hardcore fans reaching for a tissue. Bob Backlund slapping Arnold Skaaland in the crossface chicken wing. CM Punk鈥檚 pipebomb . Sabu鈥檚 leap off the Raw letters. The villainous stable Nexus that destroyed John Cena and even choked out the ring announcer. Kurt Angle and the milk truck .

And Donald Trump , yes, WWE Hall of Famer and the president, who, ahem, purchased 鈥淩aw鈥� in 2009 from McMahon.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to do stuff that鈥檚 never been done before, never been seen before,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淧eople have been watching Raw for 17 years and they deserve something special. You鈥檝e made a lot of money off these people. It鈥檚 about time you give back. Like our president says, 鈥楪ive back.鈥欌��

Trump鈥檚 reign of terror on 鈥淩aw鈥� lasted less than four years. He, ahem, sold 鈥淩aw鈥� back to McMahon the following week for twice the price.

Even the 鈥淢illion Dollar Man鈥� Ted DiBiase would have cackled at the swindle.

DiBiase will be in New York on Monday with other WWE Hall of Famers such as Scott Hall, Ron Simmons, Austin, Flair and Shawn Michaels. The Undertaker should be back from the dead to kickstart a feud against Cena for WrestleMania.

The show will have a bit of a WrestleMania 2 feel, airing live from two locations: 鈥淩aw鈥檚鈥� original home at the Manhattan Center and the Barclays Center. WWE stars and matches are scheduled at both venues, though the exact format has yet to be disclosed.

Michaels and the Undertaker were on the first show and will serve as bookends for the first and the 1,288th episode.

鈥淩aw鈥� has even sprouted branches on the family tree.

WWE champion Charlotte Flair was just a teenager for her 鈥淩aw鈥� debut. Look closely, and Flair can be spotted in the stands during a women鈥檚 match on a 2004 episode. She was back four years later when she joined her family and other WWE stars in the ring for father Ric Flair鈥檚 farewell retirement speech.

She made her debut as a wrestler on the show in 2015 鈥� complete with a strut and gold her around waist, just like The Nature Boy.

鈥淭he talent has passion for what we do and wants to show up every Monday to give everyone sitting at home the best show possible,鈥� Charlotte Flair said.

Michaels could fill a few hours on the WWE Network with 鈥淩aw鈥� highlights: His 2009 bout in London vs. Cena, regarded as 鈥淩aw鈥檚鈥� greatest match , stripping Mike Tyson down to his DX shirt and collapsing against Owen Hart in a classic 1990s matchup. He wrestled Max Moon on the inaugural 鈥淩aw.鈥�

鈥淭he first 鈥楻aw鈥� was the genesis, the nucleus, of everything that鈥檚 ever gone on in WWE,鈥� Michaels said. 鈥淣one of us had any idea at that time what we were about to embark on.鈥�

The future may not include the USA Network. The TV rights are up for grabs in late 2019 and WWE as live, weekly content should surely command a big-bucks bidding war in the open market. Imagine 鈥淩aw鈥� on Mondays on Fox with highlight shows and auxiliary programming on FS1, much like UFC does now.

鈥淚 can tell you that WWE is uniquely positioned so whatever way it goes, whatever way our fans are telling us to go, we鈥檙e there,鈥� Levesque said.

McMahon recently sold $100 million of shares to fund his Alpha Entertainment company and could re-launch the XFL. Levesque said outside interests will never get in McMahon鈥檚 way of running WWE.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any sense of change,鈥� Levesque said. 鈥淚f anybody thinks they鈥檙e going to push him out or take this thing, there鈥檚 going to be a hell of a fight.鈥�

If there is, what better place to show it than Monday nights on 鈥淩aw.鈥�

Dan Gelston, The Associated Press

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