Former Writer Predicts Changes To WWE Raw When It Goes To Two Hours
A former WWE writer thinks the creative team led by Triple H will have to make some significant changes when Raw loses one hour.
It was announced on WWE Raw in Calgary earlier this month that starting on October 7th, Monday Night Raw will be a two-hour show for the rest of the year on the USA Network in the US. Raw has been a three-hour show every week since July 2012, so it’s a significant change after 12 years.
Starting on January 6th, 2025, Raw will be on Netflix in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and many other countries. At this point, it’s unconfirmed if Raw will go back to three hours or some other time length. There have been conflicting reports about that, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
Freddie Prinze Jr. is a successful Hollywood actor and producer, who is also a lifelong pro wrestling fan. From 2008 to 2010, Prinze worked as a writer for WWE who wrote promos, booked storylines, and was also an acting coach.
When Prinze left WWE, it was a shock to a lot of people because he was about to become Smackdown’s lead writer. Prinze has said in the past that he quit WWE after a comment from Steve Austin about how tough it was to be around your family if you are in WWE. Since Prinze was a dad who wanted to be around his family more, he quit WWE and never looked back.
Will WWE Fire Wrestlers Because Of Raw Going Down To Two Hours?
Since Raw is going from a three hour show down to two hours for at least the final months of 2024, that means they won’t have as much time to put the talent on television.
While speaking on his “Wrestling with Freddie” podcast, Prinze predicted that WWE will likely fire some wrestlers who aren’t being used that often on television.
“They’re moving it and cutting it down to two, which I’ve always thought is the perfect amount of time — I predict they will not have as many wrestlers on the roster as they currently do because there won’t be enough time. That’s a full hour less of matches, segments, storylines, backstage segments, promos in the ring … a full hour less, which means it won’t be cost-effective for them to carry that many wrestlers.”
“They are now owned by TKO, another corporation, and they will do a cost-effective … [they’ll think] ‘This wrestler’s not being used, cut them. This wrestler’s not being used, cut them,’ which gives more opportunities for wrestlers to go to AEW, to go to another brand if it goes out there.”