WWE Forced Into Major Change For Raw
WWE has confirmed a seismic change for Monday Night Raw that has long been wanted by fans…but it might not last forever.
During Raw in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Joe Tessitore confirmed that beginning on October 7th, WWE’s flagship show would revert to a two-hour broadcast beginning at its usual time of 8 pm ET. The cutting of the third hour will remain in place until Raw’s final edition on the USA Network which will take place on December 30th.
Dave Meltzer confirmed on Wrestling Observer Radio that Raw will revert to a three-hour show when it moves to Netflix on January 6th 2025. Meltzer also noted that the switch to a two-hour show was a USA Network call rather than WWE.
BREAKING: #WWERaw will be on @USANetwork from 8pm ET to 10pm ET starting on Monday, October 7th and through the rest of 2024 culminating with the @USANetwork finale on Monday, December 30!
— WWE (@WWE) September 10, 2024
WWE Shows On The Move
WWE’s original deal for Raw with the USA Network will be up at the end of September 2024 but the company arranged an extension with the network to fill the gap before its multi-billion dollar deal with Netflix starts in 2025.
The USA Network will maintain a relationship with WWE as SmackDown is moving there from FOX while NXT is on its way to the CW Network as part of a huge shake-up in WWE’s TV line-up.
Raw has been a three-hour show since its 1,000th edition in 2012. Prior to that, the show had been a two-hour broadcast since 1997.