''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
produced by
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m.
ET on the
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
in the United States. The show features characters from the
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
, to which
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
employees are assigned to work and perform. The show debuted on January 11, 1993 and is currently considered to be one of two flagship shows, along with ''
Friday Night SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
''.
In September 2000, ''Raw'' moved from the USA Network to TNN, which rebranded to
Spike TV
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was o ...
in August 2003. On October 3, 2005, ''Raw'' returned to the USA Network, where it remains today. The
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...
has ceased operations in the United States as of April 5, 2021, with all content being moved to
Peacock TV
Peacock is an American over-the-top video streaming service owned and operated by the Television and Streaming division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Named after the NBC logo, the service launched on July 15, 2020. The service pri ...
, which currently has most ''Raw'' episodes, excluding content that was censored or removed by Peacock TV's standards and practices department. Recent episodes are still available for on-demand viewing 30 days after the original air date.
Since its first episode, ''Raw'' has been broadcast live from 208 different arenas, 171 cities and towns, and ten different nations: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Afghanistan in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, Iraq in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
and
2007, South Africa, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Mexico.
History
![WWF Raw (1993-1997) Logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/WWF_Raw_%281993-1997%29_Logo.svg)
Beginning as WWF's ''Monday Night Raw,'' the program first aired on January 11, 1993 on the
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
as a replacement for ''
Prime Time Wrestling
''WWF Prime Time Wrestling'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired on the USA Network from January 1, 1985, to January 4, 1993. A precursor to ''Monday Night Raw'', ''Pr ...
'', which aired on the network for eight years. The original ''Raw'' was sixty minutes in length and broke new ground in televised professional wrestling. Traditionally, wrestling shows were taped on sound stages with small audiences or at large arena shows. The ''Raw'' formula was considerably different from the taped weekend shows that aired at the time such as ''
Superstars'' and ''
Wrestling Challenge
''WWF Wrestling Challenge'' is a professional wrestling television show that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE). It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as ''WWF Cha ...
''. Instead of matches taped weeks in advance with studio voice overs and taped discussion, ''Raw'' was a show shot and aired to a live audience, with angles playing out as they happened.
''Raw'' originated from the
Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center, a small
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
theater, and aired live each week. The combination of an intimate venue and live action proved to be a successful improvement. However, the weekly live schedule proved to be a financial drain on the WWF. From Spring 1993 up until Spring 1997, ''Raw'' would tape several week's worth of episodes after a live episode had aired. The WWF taped several weeks worth of ''Raw'' from the
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center (formerly the Mid-Hudson Civic Center) is a venue located in Poughkeepsie, New York, consisting of Mair Hall (a concert and convention hall) and the McCann Ice Arena (an ice skating venue). It was built in th ...
in
Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
,
New York in April 1993, and again in June and October. The first episode produced outside of New York was taped in
Bushkill,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
in November 1993 and ''Raw'' left the Manhattan Center permanently as the show would be taken on the road throughout the United States and had in smaller venues.
On September 4, 1995, the WWF's chief competitor
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
began airing its new wrestling show, ''
Monday Nitro
''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the United ...
'', live each week on
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
, which marked the start of the
Monday Night Wars
The Monday Night Wars or Monday Night War was an era of mainstream televised American professional wrestling, from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001, in which the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) ''Monday Night Raw'' (later ''Raw I ...
.
''Raw'' and ''Nitro'' went head-to-head for the first time on September 11, 1995. At the start of the ratings war in 1995 through to mid-1996, ''Raw'' and ''Nitro'' exchanged victories over each other in a closely contested rivalry. Beginning in mid-1996, however, due to the
nWo angle
In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two Ray (geometry), rays, called the ''Side (plane geometry), sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the ''vertex (geometry), vertex'' of the angle.
Angles formed by two ...
, ''Nitro'' started a ratings win-streak that lasted for 84 consecutive weeks, ending on April 13, 1998.
On February 3, 1997, ''Raw'' went to a two-hour format,
to compete with the extra hour on ''Nitro'' (which had been expanded to two hours in the summer of 1996), and by March 10, it was renamed to ''Raw Is War''. It was also during the time ''Raw'' would be aired live more often. After
WrestleMania XIV
WrestleMania XIV was the 14th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; WWE as of 2002). It took place on March 29, 1998, at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts. ...
in March 1998, the WWF regained the lead in the Monday Night Wars with its new "
WWF Attitude
''WWF Attitude'' is a professional wrestling video game based on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) released by Acclaim Entertainment in 1999 for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. A slightly enhanced port of the game was later released ...
" brand. The April 13, 1998 episode of ''Raw Is War'', which was headlined by a match between
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...
and Vince McMahon, marked the first time that WCW had lost the head-to-head Monday night
ratings battle in the 84 weeks since 1996.
On January 4, 1999,
Mick Foley
Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador.
Foley worked for m ...
, who had wrestled for WCW during the early 1990s as Cactus Jack,
won the WWF Championship as Mankind on ''Raw Is War''. On orders from
Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...
, ''Nitro'' announcer
Tony Schiavone
Noah Anthony Schiavone (, ; born November 7, 1957) is an American sports announcer, professional wrestling commentator and podcaster currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a play-by-play commentator and senior producer. He has pre ...
gave away this previously taped result on a live ''Nitro'' and then sarcastically added, "That's gonna put some butts in the seats", consequently resulting in over 600,000 viewers switching channels to ''Raw Is War'' to see the underdog capture the
WWF Championship
The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown's ...
. This was also the night that ''Nitro'' aired a
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...
match in which
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he performed under his r ...
laid down for
Hollywood Hogan
Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...
after Hogan
poked him in the chest.
On June 28, 2000,
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to:
* Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate
* Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom
* Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
won the landmark deal with the WWF to move all of its WWF programs stemming from the lawsuit action against WWF from USA Network.
The new television contract and the subsequent purchase of competitor WCW led to many changes in WWF's programming content. ''Raw Is War'' premiered on
TNN on September 25, 2000.
WCW's sharp decline in revenue and ratings led to AOL Time Warner selling selected assets such as the WCW name, tapes, and contracts to the WWF in March 2001 for $3 million.
The final episode of Nitro, which aired on March 26, 2001, began with Vince McMahon making a short statement about his recent purchase of WCW and ended with a simulcast with ''Raw'' on TNN and ''Nitro'' on TNT including an appearance by Vince's son
Shane
Shane may refer to:
People
* Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress
* Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946)
* iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer
* Shane (name)
Shane is mainly a masculine g ...
.
The younger McMahon interrupted his father's gloating over the WCW purchase to explain that Shane was the one who actually owned WCW, setting up what became the WWF's "
Invasion
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
" storyline. Following the purchase of WCW and the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, the program was retitled as ''Raw'' on October 1, 2001, permanently retiring the ''Raw Is War'' moniker in prelude to the
upcoming United States invasion of Afghanistan.
In March 2002, as a result of the overabundance of talent left over from the Invasion storyline, WWF instituted a process known as the "
brand extension", under which ''Raw'' and ''
SmackDown!'' would be treated as two distinct divisions, each with their own rosters and championships.
Shortly thereafter, the WWF was
legally required to change the name of the company to World Wrestling Entertainment.
On March 10, 2005, Viacom and WWE decided not to go on with the agreement with
Spike TV
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was o ...
, effectively ending ''Raw'' and other
WWE programs
This is a list of broadcasters airing WWE premier weekly television programs (Raw and SmackDown) and Premium Live Events.
United States Broadcasters
International broadcasting rights
Note
See also
*List of professional wrestling televisio ...
' tenure on the network when their deal expired in September 2005. On April 4, 2005, WWE announced a three-year deal with
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
to bring ''Raw'' back to its former home, the USA Network, with two yearly specials on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
and a Spanish ''Raw'' on
Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
.
On the same week as ''Raw''s return to the USA Network, Spike TV scheduled
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
's live ''Ultimate Fight Night'' in ''Raw''
's old timeslot in an attempt to go head-to-head with ''Raw''.
Since the move to USA Network, ''Raw'' has been pre-empted during the
U.S. Open, which
aired on USA, resulting the program to be moved to
SciFi
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...
, a sister channel to USA, for three years. Since 2016, the two-hour version of that week's ''Raw'' has aired on Syfy. In February 2022, Raw temporarily moved to Syfy for two episodes due to
USA's coverage (as part of
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
) of the
2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...
.
On the August 29, 2011 episode of ''Raw'', it was announced that performers from ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown'' were no longer exclusive to their respective brand, thus effectively dissolving the brand extension. On July 23, 2012, ''Raw'' aired its
1,000th episode, which also began its permanent three-hour format. On January 14, 2013, ''Raw'' celebrated its 20th year on the air. On May 25, 2016, WWE reintroduced the
brand split, and a new set with red ring ropes, a brand new stage, used at
SummerSlam
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
. Furthermore, the broadcast table was moved to the entrance ramp similar to how it was in 2002–2005. On January 22, 2018, WWE celebrated the 25th anniversary of Raw with a simulcast show at the
Barclays Center
Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...
in Brooklyn and the home of the first Monday Night Raw, the Manhattan Center. On the February 19 episode of ''Raw'', six days before
Elimination Chamber
The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
, seven participants of the men's
Elimination Chamber
The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
match,
Braun Strowman
Adam Joseph Scherr (born September 6, 1983) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Strongman (strength athlete), strongman. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDo ...
,
Elias
Elias is the Greek equivalent of Elijah ( he, אֵלִיָּהוּ ''ʾĒlīyyāhū''; Syriac: ܐܠܝܐ ''Eliyā''; Arabic: الیاس Ilyās/Elyās), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy ...
,
Finn Bálor
Fergal Devitt (born 25 July 1981) is an Irish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Finn Bálor (), and is a member of The Judgment Day.
Devitt is widely known for his t ...
,
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied w ...
,
Roman Reigns
Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i (born May 25, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former American football, football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WW ...
,
Seth Rollins
Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Seth Rollins (often referred to as Seth "Freakin" Rollins).
Prior to signing ...
and
The Miz
Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz.
Mizanin first gained fa ...
, were involved in a
Gauntlet match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
that began with Reigns and Rollins. Strowman won the Gauntlet match by pinning The Miz in what was the longest match in WWE history, lasting nearly two hours.
From March 12, 2020 to August 18, 2020, WWE announced that all of its live programs was aired from the
WWE Performance Center
The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE wre ...
in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
without an audience until further notice beginning with the following day's episode of ''SmackDown'' due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
that resulted in the suspension of many professional sports leagues. On the May 25 episode of ''Raw,'' NXT trainees were added into live crowds at the Performance Center. In August, all programming was moved to the new, state-of-the-art
WWE ThunderDome
The WWE ThunderDome was a bio-secure bubble created by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, in partnership with the full-service fan experience company, The Famous Group. It was launched in August 2020 as a way for professional wrest ...
inside of the
Amway Center
Amway Center is an indoor arena located in Downtown Orlando, Florida. The arena is home to the Orlando Magic of the NBA, the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, and the Orlando Predators of the National Arena League.
Amway Center hosted the 2012 N ...
in Orlando. On May 21 WWE announced that they will return in front of live fans with a 25 city tour, therefore the July 12 edition of Raw would be the final WWE ThunderDome show.
Production
![WWE RAW Stage in April 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/WWE_RAW_Stage_in_April_2007.jpg)
''Raw''s original set featured red, white, and blue ring-ropes, a blue ring-apron, blue steps, and a small stage made of neon tubes. Since March 10, 1997, broadcasts of ''Raw'' were split into two hours and given hourly names for
television ratings purposes, with the first hour being referred to as ''Raw Is War'' and the second as ''War Zone'' in television listings, and by the show's on-screen graphics beginning with the June 9, 1997 episode. War Zone opened with simply the Raw intro repeated, punctuated with the War Zone logo, until the November 24, 1997 broadcast when it finally debuted its own distinct opening video, albeit simply a remixed Raw opening video. In 1995, the entrance way was changed to feature "Raw" in giant letters.
In 1997, WWF changed to red ring-ropes for ''Raw'' as well as ''Raw Is War'' being written along the ring due to their rivalry with
WCW
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...
. They also updated the stage to feature a 70 foot tall large screen video wall known as the "TitanTron", which consisted a
projection screen
A projection screen is an installation consisting of a surface and a support structure used for displaying a projected image for the view of an audience. Projection screens may be permanently installed, as in a movie theater; painted on the ...
with several
metal stage trusses and a
video projector
A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signalling (telecommunication), signal and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens (optics), lens system. Video projectors use a very bright ultra-high-per ...
. The set also initially featured
curtains
A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or (in the case of a shower curtain), water. A curtain is also the movable screen or drape in a theatre that separates the stage from the auditoriu ...
on each side with truss beams and lighting later bearing the "WWF Attitude" banner on the sides. By 1999, the WWF added the "WWF.com: 'Download This!'" logo on the bottom of the TitanTron and added two vertical sides on the stage.
With ''Raw'' moving to TNN from USA beginning with the September 25, 2000 episode, the TNN network logo was added on top of the TitanTron on the December 11, 2000 episode. The Chyron graphics were added to the bottom from the July 2, 2001 episode.
Beginning October 1, 2001, in direct response to the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, the first hour was referred to as ''Raw'' instead of ''Raw Is War'' and the second hour changed from the ''War Zone'' to the ''Raw Zone'' by the show's on-screen graphics; however, announcers would generally refer to the entire two-hour block as ''Raw'' on-air. ''Raw'' updated to a new, industrial-inspired,
parallelogram
In Euclidean geometry, a parallelogram is a simple (non- self-intersecting) quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel sides. The opposite or facing sides of a parallelogram are of equal length and the opposite angles of a parallelogram are of equa ...
-shaped
TitanTron in 2002. When the ''War'' ended, they began advertising their website on the ring aprons instead. They occasionally used black ropes. Like the previous set, the TNN logo was relocated to the bottom side of the TitanTron which was then replaced by the Spike TV logo on August 11, 2003 upon network relaunch. During the July 25, 2005 broadcast of ''Raw'' in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, a special stage design was built for the
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied w ...
-
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...
Battle of the Bands concert.
The 2002 set was designed by Production Designer Jason Robinson and it is larger than the previous TitanTron with the dimensions of 55 foot wide by 25 foot tall weighing about 4,000 lbs. and requires 3 18,000 watt projector screens to power the TitanTron.
[WWE Confidential – October 11, 2003]
/ref>
On October 3, 2005, as ''Raw'' returned to USA Network, the 2002 set was retained but the beams and lighting on the sides were modified. The Spike TV logo was removed from the bottom side of the TitanTron. No changes to the ''Raw'' set beyond October 9, 2006 when it unveiled the new logo and opening intro featuring " ...To Be Loved" by Papa Roach
Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton, drummer Dave Buckner, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luther.
After ...
as its theme song and scenes from New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, the birthplace of ''Raw'', with the ending of the intro shows the rooftop of Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
. However, the logo and intro was retained until November 9, 2009 even with the changeover to high-definition broadcast on January 21, 2008, replacing the previous set which the "Minitron" was destroyed by Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...
when Vince McMahon's face was shown.
From November 16, 2009 to July 23, 2012, the theme song for the ''Raw'' brand was "Burn It to the Ground
"Burn It to the Ground" is the fourth U.S. single (fifth single in Canada after " I'd Come for You") released from Canadian rock band Nickelback's sixth studio album '' Dark Horse''. The song has been used extensively for various promotional use ...
" by Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. It is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adai ...
. Prior to this, the theme song for ''Raw'' was " ...To Be Loved" by Papa Roach
Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton, drummer Dave Buckner, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luther.
After ...
, which had been used since October 9, 2006 and "Across The Nation" by The Union Underground
The Union Underground is an American nu metal band based out of San Antonio, Texas. Original band members included Bryan Scott, Patrick Kennison, John Moyer and Josh Memolo. They released one major label album, '' ...An Education in Rebellion'' ...
which was used from April 1, 2002 to October 2, 2006. The rap outro of " Thorn In Your Eye" featuring Scott Ian
Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax. Ian is the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroo ...
of Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...
was the theme song from March 31, 1997 to March 25, 2002.
On May 17, 2012, WWE and USA Network announced that ''Raw'' would switch to a permanent three-hour format beginning with the 1,000th episode on July 23, 2012. Since then, all three hours of the broadcast have been known solely as ''Raw'', though they are still considered three separate programs for Nielsen ratings purposes (as indicated by the on-screen copyright notice shown near the end of each hour). In 2008, ''Raw'' went HD debuting a new stage. In 2010, WWE retired the red ropes for ''Raw'' after thirteen years for an all white scheme, and in 2012 became standard for all WWE programming. In 2012, ''Raw'' updated their HD set.
Starting in mid 2014, this set would also be featured in pay-per-views. From late September through the end of October 2012, the middle rope at all WWE programming was changed to pink due to WWE's alliance with the Susan G. Komen
Susan G. Komen (formerly known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure; originally as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; often simply as Komen) is a breast cancer organization in the United States.
Komen focuses on patient navigation and advo ...
organization for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in the United States as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awaren ...
. This was repeated in 2013, from late September to early November, and it was repeated in 2014 from 29 September. WWE is one of many organizations who provide financial contributions as well as getting customers and employees to support the cause.
On August 18, 2014, ''Raw'' switched to a full 16:9 letterbox widescreen presentation, with a down-scaled version of the native HD feed on a 4:3 SD feed. In conjunction with this, ''Raw'' updated its graphics package, with the new WWE logo (first used with the WWE Network's launch in February) now on the lower-right corner of the screen, right next to the word, "Live". Also, the new WWE logo is seen on the ring's turnbuckle covers. The USA Network logo has also been moved to the lower-left hand corner of the screen. Also, ''Raw''s theme song ("The Night") was modified. On re-runs on the WWE Network and on delayed broadcasts for most international markets, ''Raw'' is edited without the word "LIVE" and the hashtag.
On March 23, 2015, WWE added a small LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
board to the left side of the ring on ''Raw''. This LED board was also used at WrestleMania 31
WrestleMania 31 was the 31st annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on March 29, 2015, at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area town of Santa Clara, California. Nine ...
. The LED board since is now on an on/off basis, featuring in some weeks and not others. On the 1,000th episode of ''Raw'', "The Night" by Kromestatik debuted as the theme for ''Raw'' while "Energy" by Shinedown
Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of Dreve, his previous band. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original l ...
served as the secondary theme-song until August 18, 2014, when it was replaced with "Denial" by We Are Harlot
We Are Harlot, often shortened to just Harlot, is a hard rock supergroup organized by singer Danny Worsnop, of Asking Alexandria and Jeff George who was formerly Sebastian Bach's guitarist. The lineup also includes bassist Brian Weaver from S ...
.
On the September 14, 2015 season premiere of ''Raw'', the middle rope was colored gold. Throughout the month of October 2015, the program partnered with Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Susan G. Komen (formerly known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure; originally as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; often simply as Komen) is a breast cancer organization in the United States.
Komen focuses on patient navigation and advo ...
to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), also referred to in the United States as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awaren ...
, with various stage elements being made pink. On the November 16, 2015, episode of ''Raw'', WWE had a moment of silence for the victims of the terrorist attack
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France, on November 13, 2015. Another moment of silence was held months later in June for the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting
On , 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff.
In a 9- ...
.
On July 25, 2016, the ropes returned to red, the announce table moved back to the top of the stage for the first time since 2005, and a new HD set and graphics were debuted. The new set was almost identical to the set used for SummerSlam
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
and 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
. It received some negativity after the newly dubbed "New Era" was using an older set. The set was revamped just four weeks later with a more elaborate and distinctive design. The new set featured the absence of a traditional TitanTron which had been custom since 1997. In its place was a curved LED banner with several rows of rectangle LED lights behind it. The new set also introduced LED floor panels on the entrance ramp along with LED ring posts. On the January 29, 2018 episode of Raw, new graphics and an updated logo were introduced, which lasted until September 23, 2019.
On September 30, 2019 for its season premiere (and coinciding with the premiere of ''SmackDown'' on Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
later that week), ''Raw'' introduced a new set (including the reinstatement of pyrotechnics, which had been dropped in 2017 due to budget issues), updated logo (cropped with a chevron
Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to:
Science and technology
* Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines
* Chevron (anatomy), a bone
* '' Eulithis testata'', a moth
* Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...
to make it resemble the corner of a ring), and new theme music ("Legendary" by Skillet
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab ha ...
). It was also revealed that both shows will now be staffed by separate writing teams.
In September 2021, the ropes would turn white from red permanently which would also apply the same to SmackDown. Meaning all WWE programming except NXT UK use white ropes once again just like December 2012 – July 2016.
On November 22, 2021, an updated version of the 2019 logo was introduced, alongside new graphics, and theme song.
In February 2022, ''Raw'' and ''NXT'' temporarily moved to Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
in the United States, due to USA Network broadcasting coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...
.
According to Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...
on the episode of ''WWE Confidential
''WWE Confidential'' is an American professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It aired on TNN/Spike TV late Saturday nights, following ''Velocity'', from May 25, 2002 to April 24, 2004. It was hos ...
'', the show utilizes 13 cameras at the cost of $85,000.[
]
Theme music
;Notes
# Bold song titles denotes that the song is currently being used as the show's theme.
Name-related lawsuits
The name for ''Raw'' was disputed in June 2009 when Muscle Flex Inc., a Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
-based fitness company, had taken legal action against the WWE after a court ruled that some of WWE's trademarks related to ''Raw'' were similar enough to the ''In the Raw'' trademark that they caused confusion among Canadians
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
. On June 18, 2008, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office then issued a final decision that found certain wares listed in the trademark application from WWE (No. 1,153,018) were confusingly similar and thus lacked distinctiveness from the Muscle Flex trademark, which Muscle Flex is in the process of acquiring. The WWE appealed the CIPO's ruling to the Federal Court of Canada
The Federal Court of Canada, which succeeded the Exchequer Court of Canada in 1971, was a national court of Canada that had limited jurisdiction to hear certain types of disputes arising under the federal government's legislative jurisdiction. ...
, but failed to file the required documents by the deadline.
In August 2009, the court ruled in favor of Muscle Flex, Inc. that it was successful in defending its ''In the Raw'' trademark against the WWE. In a press release date issued on July 20, 2009, Muscle Flex Inc. disclosed that it was in possession of WWE ''Raw''-labeled items that it believes directly infringe on its ''In the Raw'' trademark such as various CDs, VHS tapes, and a number of apparel items. According to the WWE's most recent reported financial quarter in 2009, combined sales of WWE's consumer products and digital media business segments produced $40 million in global revenues. In previous quarters, these numbers were even higher.
Similarly, in June 2017, the WWE issued a legal order to Raw Motors, an automobile repair company in Colwick
Colwick ( ) is a village, civil parish, and suburb of the city of Nottingham, in the English ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire. It is situated to the east of Nottingham's city boundary, and forms the Colwick ward within the local governmen ...
, UK, over a logo that it claims infringes on one of its logos for ''Raw'' that was used from 2006 to 2012.
Special episodes
Throughout its broadcast history, the show has aired episodes that have different themes. Some of them are yearly events such as the Slammy Award
The Slammy Awards is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy and Grammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers and other individuals within WWE, such as commentators and managers. Introduced in 1986, there have been 13 edi ...
s. Others include tributes to various professional wrestlers who have recently died or retired from actively performing, as well as episodes commemorating various show milestones or anniversaries such as Raw 1000
Raw 1000 was a television special that was broadcast live on July 23, 2012, airing on USA Network (in the U.S.) as the 1000th episode of WWE's flagship show '' Raw''. It was held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
The show featured f ...
, which celebrated the 1000th broadcast.
On-air personalities
The show features various on-air personalities including the wrestlers themselves (both males and females), ring announcers, commentators, on-screen authority figures and musicians. ''Raw'' also has had various recurring on-air segments hosted by members of the roster.
Broadcast
In the United States, the show airs live
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
*'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD)
Music
*Live (band), American alternative rock band
* List of albums ...
every Monday at 8PM ET on the USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
. Occasionally, ''Raw'' is aired on same-day tape delay when WWE is on an overseas tour. ''Raw'' is also shown live
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
*'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD)
Music
*Live (band), American alternative rock band
* List of albums ...
on BT Sport
BT Sport is a group of broadcasting of sports events, pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, Warner Bros. Dis ...
in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, in a deal which began January 2020. ''Raw'' airs live in India at 5.30 am on Tuesdays on Sony Ten
Sony Sports Network, formerly Sony Pictures Sports Network, and also known as Sony TEN, is a group of Indian pay television sports channels owned by Culver Max Entertainment (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India).
The original TEN Sports chan ...
1. Since October 6, 2014, ''Raw'' has been airing live throughout Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
on Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
. The show also airs live on Supersport in South Africa on Tuesdays at 02:00 am CAT. ''Raw'' had aired in Australia on Fox8 since 2003, usually on a 27-hour tape delay, but has started airing live as of February 4, 2014. Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
in the United States started airing a 2-hour replay of ''Raw'' on May 20, 2016. On June 26, 2018, WWE and USA Network announced a five-year contract extension for ''Raw''. The new agreement for the live, weekly three-hour block commenced in October 2019. Clips from some WWE shows have also been shown on Fox Sports.com.
Online streaming
On September 24, 2012, Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
signed a multi-year deal with WWE to stream all of the company's TV shows and some of its web series which includes ''Raw''. Episodes of ''Raw'' are available for viewing the following day as a condensed 90-minute version is available, not the full version as shown the previous night on the USA Network.
As of December 9, 2016, all episodes of ''Raw'' are available on demand on the WWE Network. Recent episodes are available for on-demand viewing 30 days after their original air date.
After WrestleMania 32
WrestleMania 32 was the 32nd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on April 3, 2016, at the AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. This was the last Wre ...
in 2016, WWE began with airing the newest episodes of Raw and SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
for countries that do not air WWE programming on traditional TV for free in less than 24 hours after the original broadcast (The links are blocked in countries where the shows are traditionally available). The 90-minute Hulu version gets put on YouTube for international audiences.
Canada
From 1995 to 2006, ''Raw'' was shown on The Sports Network
The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by comm ...
(TSN) until it moved to rival sports broadcaster The Score (now renamed Sportsnet 360) after it was announced that TSN would be carrying ''Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...
'' for the 2006 season. This meant that Canadian viewers would have to watch via tape-delay, as The Score did not broadcast ''Raw'' live at that time. Around that time, The Score aired ''Countdown to Raw'' until May 2013 when ''Raw'' is shown live to match the United States airtime. It was also shown on CKVR-TV
CKVR-DT (channel 3) is a television station in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the CTV 2 system. It is owned and operated by Bell Media alongside Toronto-based CTV outlet CFTO-DT, channel 9 (although the two stations ...
in Barrie and CKMI-TV in Quebec until 2009.
During its run on TSN, which aired live
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
*'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD)
Music
*Live (band), American alternative rock band
* List of albums ...
, Raw occasionally had been censored live for extremely violent scenes, or when female wrestlers or characters
Character or Characters may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
* ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
were assaulted by male wrestlers (particularly one segment that featured the 3-Minute Warning
3-Minute Warning was an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Matt Anoa'i and Eddie Fatu, most notable for their time with WWF/E under their ring names of Rosey and Jamal, respectively. As they were the members of the ...
assaulting Kitana Baker). These actions are supposed to be in order to meet Canadian broadcast standards, with repeat broadcasts
A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated.
Variations
In the United Kingdom, the wor ...
often more heavily edited. This move had disappointed many wrestling fans over the years, and is unusual since the violence of wrestling scenes are not significantly different from other television programs aired on regular Canadian networks.
Due to Rogers holding the rights to the National Hockey League broadcasts, ''Raw'' also airs on its OLN
OLN (formerly Outdoor Life Network) is a Canadian English-language Category A specialty channel. OLN primarily broadcasts factual-based and adventure-related reality programming aimed at male audiences. OLN is wholly owned by Rogers Sports & Me ...
channel. All archived broadcasts of ''Raw'' are available on the WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...
. Rogers Media
Rogers Media Inc., operating as Rogers Sports & Media, is a Canadian subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties, such as the Citytv and Omni Television terrestrial television stations, Sportsnet, ...
secured the rights to Canadian WWE programming until 2024.
The Middle East
''Raw'' airs live in the MENA
MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...
region on Shahid
''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...
streaming platform Tuesday mornings, and later on the same day, a one-hour version airs on MBC Action
MBC Action (stylized as ''MBC'ACTION'') is a free-to-air television channel that MBC Group’s action-packed channel that targets young Arabic males. It delivers the best in high-octane Western series, movies and action. shows and sports and ...
at 8 PM Egypt Standard Time
Egypt Standard Time (EGY) ( ''Tawqīt Miṣr al-qiyāsiyy'') is UTC+02:00, which is equivalent to Eastern European Time, Central Africa Time, South African Standard Time and Central European Summer Time, and is co-linear with neighbouring Li ...
. It also airs on FM1 in Iran and on Sport 1 and Sport 1 HD in Israel. ''Raw'' further began airing on D-Smart
D-Smart is a Turkish satellite television provider launched in 2007. It launched high-definition television
High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the pr ...
in Turkey.
Europe
In Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, ''Raw'' airs live on DAZN
DAZN ( "da zone") is a global sports entertainment platform. Different to traditional linear and satellite broadcasting, DAZN is an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service meaning that it is delivered directly to viewers via the internet.
The ...
and with German commentary on ProSieben MAXX
ProSieben Maxx is a German free-to-air channel owned by ProSiebenSat.1. The channel started broadcasting on 3 September 2013 with the movie '' Captain America: The First Avenger'' at 8:15 p.m. On 30 July 2013 ProSieben Maxx received a DVB-T b ...
every Wednesday at 10pm. In Belgium, ''Raw'' airs on ABXplore
ABXplore is a private commercial thematic television channel of the French Community of Belgium operated by Mediawan Thematics.
History
On September 13, 2017, AB Groupe
Mediawan Thematics (formerly known as AB Groupe) is a French business gro ...
(in French) and on Play6
Play6 is a Belgian commercial television channel for Flemish public which started broadcasting on 6 October 2016. It is part of SBS Belgium. The channel is a sister channel of Play4 and Play5. ZES focuses on older, successful series, movies and ...
.
In Czech Republic, ''Raw'' airs on Nova Sport. In France, ''Raw'' airs on AB1
AB1 ''(formally AB Channel 1 until 1995)'' is a French television channel aimed at young adults.
History
AB1 launched on Eutelsat's Hot Bird satellite and on cable on December 1, 1995 as AB Channel 1 nearly a year before the launch of the AB ...
and L’Équipe every Saturday.
In Italy, ''Raw'' airs live on Discovery Plus and with the italian commentary 7 days after on DMAX.
In Lithuania, ''Raw'' airs on BTV. In Poland, ''Raw'' airs on Extreme Sports Channel
The Extreme Sports Channel is a pay television channel that was launched from Amsterdam on 1 May 1999. The channel broadcasts in over 60 countries and 12 languages, and covers extreme sport and adventure sports which include surfing, skateboardi ...
.
In Portugal, ''Raw'' airs live on Sport TV with Portuguese commentary. In Romania, ''Raw'' airs on Telekom Sport.
In Russia, ''Raw'' airs on Match! Fighter with Russian commentary. In Serbia, ''Raw'' was airs on Prva Srpska Televizija
Prva (; sr-Cyrl, Прва) or Prva Srpska Televizija ( sr-Cyrl, Прва српска телевизија, lit=First Serbian Television), is a Serbian commercial television network with national coverage.
Launched on 31 December 2006 at 7&nbs ...
., like it was airs on OBN in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
and on RTL 2 in Croatia.
In Spain, ''Raw'' airs on Mega
Mega or MEGA may refer to:
Science
* mega-, a metric prefix denoting 106
* Mega (number), a certain very large integer in Steinhaus–Moser notation
* "mega-" a prefix meaning "large" that is used in taxonomy
* Gravity assist, for ''Moon-Eart ...
every Saturday at 1pm with Spanish commentary.
In United Kingdom and Ireland, ''Raw'' airs live on BT Sport
BT Sport is a group of broadcasting of sports events, pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, Warner Bros. Dis ...
, with a one-hour version airing on Channel 5 every Sunday at 10:30am.
Asia and Pacific
''Raw'' airs on Sony Ten
Sony Sports Network, formerly Sony Pictures Sports Network, and also known as Sony TEN, is a group of Indian pay television sports channels owned by Culver Max Entertainment (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India).
The original TEN Sports chan ...
1 and Sony Ten 1 HD in Nepal. It airs on Mola TV On-Demand in Indonesia.
''Raw'' airs live on Sony Ten 1 HD and Sony Ten 1 in India. And airs exclusive in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
''Raw'' streams live on TAP GO app with a live and encore telecast on TAP Sports (Philippines) on the same day and 5 in delayed telecast every Sunday nights.
''Raw'' airs live on Starhub's Hub Sports 2 in Singapore.
''Raw'' airs both live and delayed on Fox8 and Thursday nights on 9Go!
9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, anim ...
as a one-hour version in Australia.
''Raw'' airs live on J Sports
J Sports is a group of four sports satellite TV channels in Japan produced and broadcast by Jupiter Sports. They are owned by
Coverage Football Soccer
* FIFA
** National teams
*** Men's:
**** FIFA U-17 World Cup
*** Women's :
**** F ...
4 in Japan.
''Raw'' airs live on Sky 5
Sky 5 is a television channel in New Zealand available on Sky.
The channel's shows are a variety of international shows, for example ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''The Simpsons'', WWE, ''The Flash'', ''Supergirl'', ''Arrow'', ''Tour o ...
and Friday nights on Prime
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
as a one-hour version in New Zealand.
''Raw'' airs in China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
on various local networks within China and Videoland Television Network
Videoland Television Network () is a cable television network program provider in Taiwan, founded in 1983 by Koos Group. Videoland is one of Taiwan's major satellite television providers, offering seven channels of programming. Videoland is also s ...
in Taiwan in both English and Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
.
''Raw'' airs on ViuTVsix
ViuTVsix is a free-to-air English language general entertainment television channel in Hong Kong operated by HK Television Entertainment (HKTVE), whose parent company, PCCW, also operates IPTV platform Now TV and media streaming service Viu.
Th ...
in Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, on Ten Sports
Sony Sports Network, formerly Sony Pictures Sports Network, and also known as Sony TEN, is a group of Indian pay television sports channels owned by Culver Max Entertainment (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India).
The original TEN Sports chan ...
in Pakistan, and on IB Sports in South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
Latin America
''Raw'' airs live on Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
in Mexico and across Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. It also airs on La Red in Chile, Unitel in Bolivia, Canal Uno
Canal 1 ( en, Channel 1; pronounced "Canal Uno") is a Colombian state-owned television channel. It is owned by the Government of Colombia and managed by Plural Comunicaciones, S.A.S, a private company. From 1957 to 2017, the channel was administe ...
in Colombia, Teleamazonas
Teleamazonas is an Ecuadorian television network that was launched on 22 February 1974. It is one of the major television networks in the country. It was founded by Antonio Granda Centeno and has two feeds: one produced in Quito and broadcast in ...
in Ecuador, Andina de Televisión in Peru, Repretel: Canal 11 in Costa Rica, Canal VTV in El Salvador, Canal 5 in Honduras, RPC Canal 4 in Panama and Imagen Televisión
Imagen Televisión is a national broadcast television network in Mexico, owned by Grupo Imagen. It launched on October 17, 2016, at 8 p.m.
History Imagen on television
In 2006, Imagen's parent, Grupo Empresarial Ángeles, acquired XHRAE-T ...
in Mexico.
South Africa
Previously the rights to broadcast Raw, along with other WWE shows, were held by free-to-air broadcaster e.tv
e.tv (commonly referred to on-air as e) is the first and only privately owned free-to-air television station in South Africa. It is the fifth terrestrial television channel in the country, following three channels that are operated by the sta ...
. Raw would play on Sundays in the evening, with a 7-day delay, edited to one hour and was the most watched program on the channel. However, in 2017 e.tv decided not to renew its broadcasting deal with WWE. The rights were later resold to SuperSport (the initial broadcasters of WWE programming).
In 2019 SuperSport, along with its parent company MultiChoice
MultiChoice is a South African company that operates DStv, a major satellite television service in Sub-Saharan Africa and GOtv, a minor service operating in over 9 countries of this area and Showmax service. MultiChoice was formed out of the sub ...
, signed a deal to broadcast the 24-hour WWE channel as a pop-up channel for five months on their DStv
Digital Satellite Television, commonly abbreviated to DStv, is a Sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service owned by MultiChoice and based in Randburg, South Africa. Launched on 6 October 1995, the service provides multiple audio, ...
platform. It is now a permanent channel on DStv under the channel number 128
Jamaica
WWE Raw airs live on Flow 1 and has a replay on Saturdays at 12 PM.
Broadcast history
United States
Canada
Awards and nominations
References
External links
''WWE Raw''
a
USANetwork.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:WWE Raw
1993 American television series debuts
2000s American television series
2010s American television series
2020s American television series
American live television series
Spike (TV network) original programming
USA Network original programming
English-language television shows