Old School Raw hints at new WWE Network

Fans may have enjoyed the turn-back-the-clock logos on Old School Raw Monday night, but it was a much newer design that possibly told the biggest story about WWE moving forward.

WWE on several occasions during the evening promoted what WWE.com is calling the “blockbuster announcement that will change WWE forever,” a live-stream broadcast that will take place on the website at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night from Las Vegas.

The logo accompanying the TV teaser resembled the WWE Network logo, meaning fans may finally learn the incarnation of the 24-hour channel WWE has been trying to launch for two years. WWE Chairman/CEO Vince McMahon, along with current star John Cena and retired former WWE champs Shawn Michaels and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, will be among those at the announcement.

Fittingly, Monday’s show featured much of what WWE has hoped fans would pay for with a network -- a bridge between today’s stars and yesterday’s legends. That theme was in full force.

* John Cena came to the ring to rescue Ric Flair after he was threatened by WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton to open the show.

* Degeneration X tag-team New Age Outlaws joined in with CM Punk to hit the ring and save “Rowdy” Roddy Piper from the Shield after Hot Rod interviewed them on a special episode of Piper’s Pit.

* Rikishi joined Too Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty and Grandmaster Sexay) on Raw for the first time in more than a decade to defeat 3MB.

* Big E Langston went through a surreal scene backstage while trying to make it to the ring, running into Nikolai Volkoff singing the Soviet national anthem, the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase reminding him that “everyone has a price” and IRS warning him to pay his taxes.

* Jake “The Snake” Roberts shocked the crowd with his appearance at the end of the show, planting a snake on top of Dean Ambrose after Punk laid him out with his go to sleep finisher.

The show focused on nostalgia while still advancing some of the company's most important stories. One week after re-appearing on Raw, Brock Lesnar finally found his match in the form of the Big Show. Show dispatched Lesnar with a biel throw after Lesnar “broke” Mark Henry’s arm with a kimura lock.

And moments before Roberts’ appearance, Roman Reigns used a spear to pin Punk, making him the only member of the Shield who’s been able to beat the “Second City Saint.”