Raw's 30th Anniversary Special: Four Takeaways From Nostalgia-Fest In Philadelphia

WWE Monday Night Raw celebrated its 30th anniversary with a special show on the January 23 episode.

Fans were treated to a night filled with big moments across the board, but it did not neglect the future of the product.

Below are some takeaways from Raw XXX.

Nostalgia Remains King

The show opened up with Hulk Hogan and the "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart welcoming the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a video package of some of the most iconic moments that happened over the course of the show's run.

Industry legends such as Farooq, The Godfather, Diamond Dallas Page, Alundra Blayze, Jerry "The King" Lawler, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, IRS and Theodore "Teddy" Long were featured throughout the program in different capacities.

Fans also witnessed a great night of in-ring cameos from WWE legends like Kurt Angle and D-Generation X, but the biggest pop of the night belongs to The Undertaker who interrupted LA Knight's promo as "The American Badass."

Riding on his motorcycle to the ring as Kid Rock's "American Badass" theme blared through the speakers, it marked the first time Raw viewers would see The Undertaker in this gimmick since the early 2000s.

Even if WWE legends were reduced to mere cameos and feature spots, the 30th anniversary of WWE Raw was still successful in reminding fans of how far the company has come.

Where Sami Zayn's Bloodline Story Goes From Here

Sami Zayn was thrust into the spotlight of the opening segment of Raw XXX in Tribal Court wherein he was subject to prosecution by Paul Heyman in the hopes of kicking him out of The Bloodline.

After a fiery Roman Reigns ordered Solo Sikoa to attack Zayn, Jey Uso came to his rescue and eventually had Reigns doling out a not-guilty verdict in the meantime, but he will undergo a "final test" at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view this Saturday, January 28.

Zayn would go on to help defend The Usos Raw tag team titles against The Judgment Day after Jimmy Uso was kayfabe injured.

This brings up the question as to how far Zayn's involvement with The Bloodline will go moving forward since Reigns' paranoia about Zayn continues to hound them.

As it stands, the next chapter of the Bloodline and Zayn will be decided at the Royal Rumble.

Bayley Draws Even More Heat Ahead Of Pay-Per-View

The steel cage match between Bayley and Becky Lynch was heavily advertised heading into the show, but the match itself did not materialize during Raw as Damage CTRL launched an attack on Lynch which rendered her unable to compete.

It was later revealed by industry insider Raj Giri that the match was cut because of the aforementioned Bloodline segment going past their allotted time.

Fans were understandably outraged by the seeming bait-and-switch, but it can also be argued that WWE did the best it can with what was handed to them.

It allowed Damage CTRL to draw more heat for sabotaging an anticipated match while giving Lynch more motivation to definitively beat Bayley at the Royal Rumble event.

Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley Headed For Potential WrestleMania Matchup

The closing match had Bobby Lashley challenging Austin Theory for the United States Championship in a no-disqualification match.

Lashley appeared to be closing in on the win when "The Beast Incarnate" Brock Lesnar decided to make his presence known and delivered an F5 to Lashley first and then Theory.

The last F5 had Lesnar dropping Theory on top of Lashley for the pinfall victory and retaining the title in an explosive way to close out the night as the blood feud between Lesnar and Lashley continues.

It should be noted that prior to the match, MVP had approached Lashley to offer his services and help win the title, but Lashley brushed him off and went into the match alone.

The threat of Lesnar always surrounding him could prompt Lashley to work again with MVP and eventually reform the Hurt Business after weeks of MVP doing his hardest to get the faction back together.

Because of the long-term consequences of the story, WWE can opt to have this match reach all the way to WrestleMania 39 as part of the undercard since both men's move sets equate to a hard-hitting match.

Having Lashley come out as the winner of the feud makes the most sense if WWE is keen on having him chase after either the WWE or Universal Championships down the road.