WWE fans will have to get used to a big change to Monday Night Raw after tonight’s show.
The weekly programme – which has aired every week since its launch in 1993 – is moving to Netflix in January as part of the company’s $5 billion deal with the streaming giant.
Its current US TV deal for Raw was due to run out tonight, with its future unclear over the next few months, but an arrangement was made with USA Network to keep it on air.
However, there will be a big change from next week when the programme is cut from three hours to two for the remainder of the year, while no decision has been announced for its running time on Netflix.
Tonight’s episode will be the final three-hour Raw for the time being, bringing an end to a run which started 12 years ago in July 2012.
New Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso is advertised for the show, while Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman will collide in a Last Monster Standing match.
CM Punk and Drew McIntyre will meet face-to-face before their Hell In A Cell match at Bad Blood this weekend, while other bouts include Rey Mysterio vs Xavier Woods, Lyra Valkyria vs Zoey Stark and Chad Gable vs Kofi Kingston.
There have been conflicting reports and plenty of speculation about what’s to come for Raw and SmackDown’s respective running times from January, with specifics yet to be confirmed publicly.
Fan response was mixed when it was announced Raw would be going to two hours for the rest of 2024.
Despite plenty of people wanting the show to run for two hours, many more are disappointed in the decision now it’s actually a reality, with some 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 💯’
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.
Presently, SmackDown and NXT – which also are weekly – are both two hours long.
In January, US fans will be able to watch Raw on Netflix, while 80% of the world – including everyone in the UK UK – will use the streaming platform to access all WWE programming.
As well as the three weekly shows, this will include all premium live events like WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and SummerSlam, and other historic shows currently available on the WWE Network.
WWE Raw airs Monday nights at 1am on TNT Sports 1.
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