World Wrestling Entertainment superstars come together every week on Raw to showcase drama, action and incredible athleticism.
Raw airs on USA Network; however, due to USA’s coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games it temporarily moved over to Syfy until February 2022.
In January 2025, the show will move over to Netflix.
The History of Raw
As WWE prepares to leave linear TV forever in January 2025, here is a look back at some of its iconic moments from their flagship weekly television show.
WWE Raw’s transition to Netflix presents plenty of room for experimentation with more provocative programming, according to Triple H during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. WWE won’t have to worry about censoring inappropriate or explicit audio/video content on this streaming service, he noted.
The show opened with a moving tribute to Chris Benoit. Numerous wrestlers expressed their respects to this former WWF Champion while Vince McMahon broke character to address his audience regarding their company’s tragedy.
The Monday Night Wars
The original Raw was an innovative show that revolutionized television wrestling, switching away from studio-recorded events to live matches with audience participation and interaction.
WCW producer Eric Bischoff set out to distinguish himself and his company by directly challenging WWF on Monday nights with Nitro, airing directly opposite Raw. Bischoff secured a primetime timeslot for Nitro which would air directly opposite Raw.
At first, Raw was suffering in ratings battle with Nitro, until Vince Russo took charge of writing WWF television, revolutionizing how wrestling television was presented with his “WWF Attitude” concept – morally dubious characters such as heel Mankind (from WCW), Stone Cold Steve Austin’s kayfabe babyface role, and D-Generation X’s rebellious behavior helped turn things around, driving up ratings along with it.
The Evolution of the Raw Brand
Raw is one of the longest-running episodic television shows ever broadcast, debuting January 11th 1993 and continuing to air weekly since then on Monday nights live. Its name embodies its high energy show while its bold logo represents their brand vision of excellence and power.
Originaly taped at New York City‘s Manhattan Center, but later relocated to Bushkill, Pennsylvania where it would air live each week. Later the show would transform to feature an interactive TitanTron set with special entrance portals for Superstars coming ontostage.
In 2019, RAW underwent a dramatic makeover, elongating letters and making them appear three-dimensional with silver 3D edging and strategic shadowing. This emblem symbolises continuous evolution, progress, strength, and combative spirit – attributes which accurately represent its content. RAW brand now encompasses multiple pay-per-view events as well as Main Event’s weekly show.
The Impact of Raw
Since 1987, WWE has offered fans weekly entertainment that has revolutionized the wrestling world. Now, the iconic Monday Night show will make the transition from linear television to streaming; according to reports, Netflix and WWE have signed an estimated $5 billion agreement covering rights to their brand in North America, Europe, Latin America and Australia.
No matter the platform, WWE always finds an audience. As an industry ratings powerhouse and impressive brand builder, WWE consistently draws audiences. Stars such as The Rock and John Cena have become cultural icons thanks to their time on Raw.
WWE’s move to Netflix also increases their revenue potential; according to reports, they will reportedly rake in up to $800 million annually from their rights deals with Netflix and NBC Peacock starting 2025. Though not live events themselves, WWE scripted reality programming typically performs well when broadcasted via streaming services such as Netflix. They expect this global reach will bring many new viewers.
