The original Transformers cartoon opened with Bumblebee and Wheeljack searching for energon rods on Cybertron whilst being hunted by Seekers. The opening of this episode is a homage to this.
The first characters shown in robot form are Bumblebee and Wheeljack, same as the original cartoon. However, in the original cartoon, Wheeljack is shown first, then Bumblebee, while in this, they're shown Bumbleebee, then Wheeljack.
Jetfire's allegiance as a Decepticon is directly lifted from the original TV series.
The opening scene of Bumblebee and Wheeljack searching for energon is an homage to the very first scene from the original 1984 series.
Jetfire's allegiance and character dynamics with Starscream are taken from the original 1984 series.