WWE has announced Monday Night Raw will be cut to two hours next month until the end of the year.
The long running professional wrestling programme, which has been on air every week since its launch in 1993, was extended to three hours in 2012 with some fans critical of the show’s length over the last decade.
During this week’s episode, new commentator Joe Tessitore revealed the change, with WWE later confirming on X that the new runtime comes into effect on October 7.
It will continue ‘through the rest of 2024 culminating with the @USANetwork finale on Monday, December 30’ one week before Raw moves to Netflix.
Despite plenty of people wanting the show to run for two hours, many are disappointed in the decision now it’s actually been made, with some fans concerned about the sizeable roster of wrestlers.
‘So what about the talent that doesn’t get used? Hope this doesn’t lead to releases man,’ said X user @mtpluggrind, while @Cory_hays407 added: ‘2 hours? Too much talent for 2 hours.’
Fan @jessybrownsugar tweeted: ‘Dear @TripleH Raw has to much talent to be 2 hours! Please keep it 3 hours. 🙏🏽 #WWERaw @wwe,’ as @Jason_40_ wrote: ‘Personally not happy. It’s going to be difficult to put everyone on TV the roster is stacked 💯’
Another viewer, @phillycardjesus, described the decision as ‘bittersweet’, while others who have spent ‘a long time’ calling for the change aren’t quite so sure now.
@Chillsoulkosho added: ‘Ngl I wanted this change for a long time. But Raw has WAY too many wrestlers to go to 2 hours right now🤔 Some hardly get featured enough as it is already 🙁 #WWERaw’
However, not everyone is quite so upset by the decision, with some describing it as a ‘good move’, while it’s not known for sure what format the programme will take after the Netflix move.
‘Weekly pro wrestling shows sweet spot for me is two hours. No matter how good a show is, which #WWERaw has been most recently….three hours can be long. Sometimes less is more,’ wrote @smFISHMAN.
And @WrestlingF60595 added: ‘Raw going back to two hours is actually a good move!! #WWERaw’
As it stands, SmackDown and NXT – which also are weekly – are both two hours long.
In January, fans in the US will see Raw move to Netflix, while 80% of the world – including the UK – will use the streaming platform to access all WWE programming.
This will include the weekly shows (Raw, SmackDown and NXT), plus all premium live events like WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and SummerSlam, and historic shows currently available on the WWE Network.
WWE Raw airs Monday nights at 1am on TNT Sports 1.
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