WWE Raw
| WWE Raw | |
|---|---|
| File:WWE RAW logo.svg | |
| Created by | Vince McMahon |
| Starring | WWE roster |
| Opening theme | "The Night" by Kromestatik[2] |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 21[3] |
| No. of episodes | 1,037 (as of April 8, 2013) |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multicamera setup |
| Running time | 185 minutes (including commercials) |
| Original release | |
| Network | TNN/Spike TV (2000 – 2005) USA Network (1993 – 2000; 2005 – present) |
| Release | January 11, 1993[1] – present |
| Related | |
| WWE SmackDown WWE NXT WWE Main Event WWE Superstars WWE Saturday Morning Slam | |
WWE Raw (also advertised as WWE Monday Night Raw)[5] is a professional wrestling television program that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States and originally debuted on January 11, 1993.[1] It remained there until 2000, when Raw was moved to TNN, later known as Spike TV.[6] In 2005, the show was moved back to the USA Network.[7] Since its launch in 1993, Raw continues to air on Monday nights. Raw is generally seen as the company's flagship program due to its prolific history, high ratings, weekly three-hour live format, and emphasis on pay-per-views.[8]
Since its first episode, WWE Raw has been broadcast live from 203 different arenas, in 169 cities and towns, in ten different nations (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan in 2005, Iraq in 2006 and 2007, South Africa[citation needed] in 1997, Germany[citation needed] in 1997, Japan in 2005, Italy in 2007, and Mexico in 2011). As of the show's 1,000th episode, airing on July 23, 2012, Raw has become a three-hour broadcast, a format that had previously been reserved for special episodes.[9]
Show history
1993–2002
Original format
Beginning as WWF Monday Night Raw, the program first aired on January 11, 1993. It aired on the USA Network for one hour. The original Raw 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 very different than that of its predecessor, Prime Time Wrestling. Instead of taped matches, 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. The first episode featured Yokozuna defeating Koko B. Ware in the opening match, The Steiner Brothers defeating The Executioners, WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels defeating Max Moon and The Undertaker defeating Damien Demento. The show also featured an interview with Razor Ramon and an appearance by Doink the Clown.
Raw originated from the Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center Studios, a small New York City theater, and aired live each week. The combination of an intimate venue and live action proved highly successful. However, the weekly live schedule proved to be a financial drain on the WWF, and taped shows began airing every other week. From early 1994 to September 1999 (and used occasionally in case of Monday being Independence Day, Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day), Raw was shown live on one Monday and then the next day (Tuesday) next Monday's Raw was taped. This meant that Raw was live one week and taped the next.
The storylines and characters during the early years of Raw still had a healthy dose of the old WWF "gimmick-heavy" style. For instance, events occurred such as Irwin R. Schyster tearing up Tatanka's headdress, the various "Undertaker sightings" in mid-1994 and characters like Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, Doink the Clown, or Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly.
Raw, uniquely in its day, covered the unexpected, exciting moments and was tag-lined as "Uncut, Uncensored, Uncooked."[10] Some of those moments included Money Inc. viciously attacking Brutus Beefcake's surgically repaired face with a metal briefcase, Razor Ramon losing a match unexpectedly to The Kid or Marty Jannetty beating Shawn Michaels to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship.
Vince McMahon, Rob Bartlett and Randy Savage served as the original hosts of Raw.[10] Sean Mooney conducted the interviews and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan also helped contribute. Raw also originally featured the Raw Girls; ladies who would parade signs around the ring in between matches that often used the term "Raw" in a pun (as in "Open Wide and Say Raw", among others). After about a year, Raw moved out of the Manhattan Center and traveled to various regular WWF venues in the United States. In mid-1995, Raw briefly showcased "Dok Hendrix and the Raw Band"; a musical performance in between segments on the show.
The Monday Night Wars and Raw is War
In 1995, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) began airing its new wrestling show, WCW Monday Nitro, live each week on TNT.[11] Raw and Nitro went head-to-head for the first time on September 11, 1995. Due to Raw's taping schedule on several occasions, WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff, who also worked as an on-air authority figure, would frequently give away the results of WWF's taped Raw shows on the live WCW show. Some fans also looked at Raw taping results on the steadily growing Internet; this caused the ratings of the taped Raw episodes to decrease.
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, thanks primarily to the nWo angle, Nitro started a ratings win-streak that lasted for 84 consecutive weeks, ending on April 13, 1998.[11]
Controversy erupted on the November 4, 1996 episode when Brian Pillman, engaged in a feud with Steve Austin, pulled a gun on Austin during a home-invasion segment. Pillman was also heard using the word "fuck" during the segment, which, due to the live nature of Raw, went uncensored. Executives at USA Network were not pleased with the episode and forced the WWF and Pillman to apologize for the incident.
On February 3, 1997, Monday Night Raw went to a two-hour format,[11] as an edgier, more hostile attitude was starting to come in full stream in the WWF. In an attempt to break the momentum of what had turned into ratings domination by Nitro, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was brought in as Jerry Lawler challenged ECW on February 17, 1997. In an episode where Raw returned to the Manhattan Center, the challenge was answered with Taz, Mikey Whipwreck, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, D-Von Dudley, and The Sandman and "ECW Representative" Paul Heyman appearing and performing ECW-style matches for the WWF audience.
On March 3, 1997, a house show from Berlin, Germany; which was filmed with few cameras and poor lighting and featured an array of cold matches with no storyline builds to them, aired as that week's episode of Raw. The show was very poorly received by fans (earning only a 1.9 rating, one of the lowest the show has ever recorded[12]) and WWF executives, alike.[13] The following week, Raw was completely revamped with a new set, new theme music (originally The Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson, later a WWF-created song), and was renamed Raw is War. The March 17, 1997 episode featured a heated Bret Hart/Vince McMahon altercation (that unknowingly foreshadowed the Montreal Screwjob) where Hart shoved McMahon to the mat and engaged in a profanity-laden tirade, much of which went uncensored.
Throughout 1997, further controversial elements emerged with Raw and WWF programming. Notable angles included Bret Hart and his Hart Foundation declaring war on the United States life-style, Paul Bearer delivering an intense promo on June 30 claiming that The Undertaker's brother Kane was still alive after surviving a house fire twenty years prior and claiming that the Undertaker had started it, gang warfare between the Nation of Domination, the Disciples of Apocalypse and Los Boricuas erupting in the summer, Steve Austin's building feud with WWF executives, and primarily Vince McMahon (who was being known as the legit owner of the World Wrestling Federation), and the emergence of D-Generation X as an anti-establishment group.
After WrestleMania XIV in March 1998, which featured Mike Tyson as a ring enforcer, and Shawn Michaels final match up until 2002, the WWF regained the lead in the Monday Night Wars with its new "WWF Attitude" brand, led in particular by rising stars Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H and Mankind. The classic feud between the WWF Chairman Vince McMahon and fan favorite Steve Austin caught the interest of fans. The April 13, 1998 episode of Raw, headlined by a match between Austin and McMahon, marked the first time that WCW had lost the head-to-head Monday night ratings battle in the 84 weeks since 1996.
While Raw was taking a new approach to programming, Nitro began producing lackluster programming with repetitive storylines. Older stars such as Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash frequently occupied the main events, while younger talent such as Rey Mysterio, Jr., Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Eddie Guerrero were not given opportunities to advance, and the only newcomers elevated to main-event status at the time were Goldberg and Diamond Dallas Page.
On Raw, fans were immersed in the feud between Vince McMahon and Steve Austin, while superstars like Triple H, Mankind and The Rock were gradually elevated to main event status in the WWF. Other superstars such as Kane, Val Venis, the New Age Outlaws, and Edge among others were coming through the ranks and exposing the WWF as territory where new talent could ascend, as opposed to WCW. Matters were so heated between the two programs that, when both shows were in the Hampton Roads area on the same night (Raw in Hampton, Virginia, Nitro in Norfolk, Virginia), DX was sent to film a "war" segment at the Norfolk Scope where they berated WCW and interviewed fans on camera who stated that they received their Nitro tickets for free (presumably in an attempt by WCW to pack the arena to capacity due to low ticket sales).[14]
On January 4, 1999, Mick Foley, who had wrestled for WCW during the early 1990s as Cactus Jack, won the WWF Title as Mankind on Raw. On orders from Bischoff, Nitro announcer Tony Schiavone 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 watch Raw. This was also the night that Nitro aired a WCW World Heavyweight Championship match in which Kevin Nash blatantly laid down for Hulk Hogan after Hogan poked him in the chest.
Tragedy befell the World Wrestling Federation at the Over the Edge pay-per-view on May 23, 1999 when Owen Hart tragically perished in an in-ring stunt gone wrong. The following night on Raw, the entire episode was dedicated to the memory of Hart with various WWF personalities delivering out-of-character comments on the accident. While the episode was the highest rated edition of Raw up to that point,[12] the episode was regarded by several critics (including Hart's brother, Bret) as being in bad taste.[15]
On September 27, 1999, Mick Foley helped Raw achieve some of its highest ratings ever with a segment featuring himself (as Mankind) and The Rock. In a send-up of the old This Is Your Life series, Mankind presented people from The Rock's past, such as a home economics teacher, gym teacher and old high school girlfriend, all of whom were hilariously rejected by The Rock. The This is Your Life segment remains one of the highest rated segments in Raw viewership history, with an 8.4 rating.
The end of the Wars
A new television contract with Viacom led to changes in WWF broadcasting. On September 25, 2000, Raw moved from the USA Network to TNN (which later became Spike TV).[6]
WCW's sharp decline in revenue and ratings led to Time Warner's sale of the company to the WWF in March 2001. The final edition of Nitro aired on March 26, 2001. The show 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 with an appearance by Vince's son Shane.[16] 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" storyline. Following the sale of WCW and the events of September 11, 2001, the Raw is War title was quietly retired and the program was now known simply as Raw. This, according to some people, marked the end of the famous "Attitude Era".
2002–2012
"Brand Extension"
In early-to-mid-2002, the WWF underwent a process they called the "Brand Extension".[16] The WWF divided itself into two de facto wrestling promotions with separate rosters, storylines and authority figures.[16] Raw and SmackDown! would host each division, give its name to the division and essentially compete against each other. The split came about as a result of the WWF purchasing their two biggest competitors, WCW and ECW. The brand extension was publicly announced by Linda McMahon during a telecast of Raw on March 25, 2002, and became official the next day. Shortly thereafter, the WWF was legally required to change the name of the company to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Wrestlers became show-exclusive, wrestling for their specific show only. At the time this excluded the WWE Undisputed Championship and WWE Women's Championship, as those WWE titles would be defended on both shows. In August 2002, WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar refused to defend the title on Raw, in effect causing his title to become exclusive to SmackDown! The following week on Raw, General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded a newly instated World Heavyweight Championship to Raw's designated number one contender, Triple H. Because the WWE Undisputed Championship was now SmackDown! exclusive, it was no longer seen as "undisputed". Following this, the WWE Women's Championship soon became Raw-exclusive as well. As a result of the Brand Extension, an annual "draft lottery" was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.
Return to USA Network
On March 10, 2005, Viacom and WWE decided not to go on with the agreement with Spike TV, effectively ending Raw and other WWE programs's tenure on the network when their deal expired in September 2005. On April 4, 2005, WWE announced a three-year deal with NBCUniversal to bring Raw back to its former home, the USA Network, with two yearly specials on NBC and a Spanish Raw on Telemundo.[7] On the same week as Raw's return to the USA Network, Spike TV scheduled Ultimate Fighting Championship's live Ultimate Fight Night in Raw's old timeslot in an attempt to go head-to-head with Raw.[17]
The show's first night back on USA was billed as the "WWE Homecoming", a three-hour special, and featured the return of former WWE Champions such as Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, Triple H and Vince McMahon, along with cameos from legends such as Roddy Piper, Jimmy Hart, Jimmy Snuka and Harley Race. Also, it featured a 30 minute Iron Man match between Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle.[17] USA also showed Raw Exposed, an hour of the best moments of Raw during its previous run on USA. WWE announced that Raw received its highest ratings in three years, gaining close to six million viewers. On-camera, the show began to be referred to as "Monday Night Raw" again.
During the September 25, 2006 episode of Raw in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the opening of Raw suffered a blackout. Spotlights were the only lights running in the house, thus the opening match (between Lita and Candice Michelle) was contested in the dark. Power in the presentation was later restored. Another similar moment happened back on May 26, 1996 in Florence, South Carolina for WWF In Your House 8: Beware of Dog, when a major thunderstorm hit the Florence Civic Center causing major chaos for the PPV. That Tuesday, Beware of Dog, returned to North Charleston, South Carolina to finish out three matches that were not shown because of the lost power feed. That October, Raw held a three-hour season premiere called the "Raw Family Reunion", where the Raw brand debuted a new logo and theme song, Papa Roach's "...To Be Loved". The episode also featured talent from the SmackDown! and ECW brands. Later that month, on October 23, Raw aired its 700th episode, according to the WWE making it the longest running weekly entertainment show, without a hiatus, in television history,[16] though this claim has been disputed.
On June 25, 2007, Raw was scheduled in Corpus Christi, Texas to be a three-hour special memorial show for the storyline death of the Mr. McMahon character. Two weeks earlier, the show had broadcast an angle in which Mr. McMahon was presumably murdered by a bomb planted within his limousine. The 'Mr. McMahon' tribute was cancelled on the day it was due to air after the real life death of Chris Benoit and his family. The show was hastily canceled, the audience denied entrance to the arena, and became a three-hour tribute to Benoit, airing highlights from the WWE DVD 'Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story', and a selection of Benoit's most famous matches. Several wrestlers paid tribute in the form of real interviews about him, and Vince McMahon broke character to address the viewers about what had happened. However, when the facts of Benoit's death came to light, WWE pulled this episode from international markets which aired Raw on a tape delay basis. Several channels announced the episode was being withheld for legal reasons. A substitute Raw, hosted by Todd Grisham from WWE Studios, was created featuring recaps of John Cena's WWE Championship victories, mainly the ones that had occurred over the past year. The episode started with a message from Vince McMahon which originally aired on the June 26 edition of ECW. Some countries that received WWE programming up to three weeks late had all Chris Benoit matches edited out.
In December 2007, Raw celebrated its 15th anniversary in a three-hour spectacular on the USA Network. The Raw 15th Anniversary DVD was also released which featured some of the most memorable moments in Raw history.
Switch to HD
WWE began 2008 with a new HD-friendly set, which consists of more than 1,000,000 LEDs. The introduction of this new set retired the old set, which was used from April 2002 to January 2008. Raws first show in HD was held in the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. That June, the World Heavyweight Championship returned to Raw after CM Punk used his Money in the Bank contract for an impromptu title match, defeating SmackDowns Edge.
On September 8, 2008, WWE announced that a "talent exchange" was started between ECW and Raw, allowing their respective talent to appear and compete on either brand. This is similar to an earlier "talent exchange" between SmackDown and ECW. On November 3, 2008, Raw celebrated its 800th episode with a three-hour episode (though, the actual 800th episode aired on September 22, 2008).
On June 15, 2009, Vince McMahon announced on a special three-hour edition of Raw that he had "sold" the show to Donald Trump, who appeared on-screen to confirm it and declared he would be at the following commercial-free episode in person. WWE issued a press release on the scripted sale while the USA Network later issued a statement confirming the "sale" as part of a storyline. The statement was issued in response to multiple news sources having mistakenly reported the event as legitimate. Due to the mistake, on the day following the announcement, WWE's stock on the New York Stock Exchange notably fell. Despite USA Network's acknowledgment that the sale was fictional, Randy Katz, a securities lawyer with Baker & Hostetler, commented on the Fox Business Network that a probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against WWE and USA Network owner General Electric "certainly is a possibility."[18] The next week, Vince McMahon repurchased Raw from Donald Trump and announced that a "Guest star" initiative originally introduced by Trump in response to the position of General Manager being vacant would go in effect on June 29. The guest host or hostess assumed the role of a General Manager, serving as Raws authority figure for the episode. The following year, it was announced that with Vickie Guerrero (and subsequently Bret Hart) becoming the new full-time General Manager, the guest stars (while continuing to appear) would no longer have authoritative power.[19]
In 2010, TNA Impact!, which normally airs on Thursdays, went head to head with Raw in a three-hour live broadcast. This would be the first time since March 2001 that two major wrestling promotions would go head-to-head in a Monday night ratings competition. TNA promoted the debut of Hulk Hogan leading to the broadcast.[20] WWE countered by announcing the return of Bret Hart, who had not appeared with the company since the Montreal Screwjob in 1997.[21] The ratings showed that, much like the first Monday Night War, Raw came out on top, averaging 5.6 million viewers while Impact! was watched by more than 3 million viewers for the opening hour, though towards the end of the show the viewership declined to 2.2 million viewers.[22] On March 8, 2010, Impact! permanently moved to Monday nights to compete head-to-head with Raw.[23] After declining ratings, Spike TV executives announced that starting April 5, Impact! would air an hour earlier than Raw.[24] However, Impact! was moved back to Thursdays as Raw garnered better ratings and the audience of TNA was reduced.[25] On April 19, 2010, many of the Raw superstars were stranded in Belfast due to the ash cloud from the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull hovering over most of Europe, causing many flights to be put on hold. Former ring announcer Lilian Garcia announced that night while the SmackDown roster took part in production of the Raw episode. On August 30, 2010, Raw aired its 900th episode. In November, Raw went "Old School", bringing back classic WWF styles, such as the WWF logo, red, white, and blue ring ropes, and button-up shirts with bow-ties for the referees, among other things.
On August 29, 2011, it was announced that SmackDown wrestlers would be allowed to compete on Raw full-time as part of the new Raw SuperShow format, with a similar announcement made for Raw wrestlers on SmackDown later that week. With both programs now featuring the full roster (as well as Raw and SmackDown house shows) this marked (for all intents and purposes) the end of the brand extension. On July 23, 2012, Raw celebrated its 1,000th episode while the "SuperShow" subtitle was quietly retired and it also had its first permanent three-hour broadcast. Then on January 14, 2013, Raw celebrated its 20th year on the air.
On January 25, 2013, WWE.com uploaded a "lost episode" [26] of Monday Night Raw that was meant to be the forty-first episode and air on November 22, 1993 but was preempted. To date, the "lost episode" is not counted as of Raw's 1000+ episode run and no reason was ever given for the edition's replacement. The "Lost episode" was the go-home show for Survivor Series 1993 and featured a match for the WWE Championship with Bret Hart and Yokozuna and the voices of Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon on commentary with Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan and Todd Pettengill in studio.
Production
During the 1,000th episode of Raw, "The Night" by Kromestatik,[2] was debuted as the theme for Raw while "Energy" by Shinedown serves as the secondary theme song. From November 16, 2009 to July 23, 2012, the theme song for the Raw brand was "Burn It to the Ground" by Nickelback.[27] Prior to this, the theme song for Raw was "...To Be Loved" by Papa Roach, which had been used since October 9, 2006 and "Across The Nation" by The Union Underground which was used from April 1, 2002 to October 2, 2006. The rap outro of "Thorn In Your Eye" featuring Scott Ian of Anthrax was the theme song from 1998 to March 25, 2002.
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 by the show's on-screen graphics. However, as of October 1, 2001, the first hour has been referred to as Raw and the second as Raw Zone by the show's on-screen graphics. However, both hours are known as just "Raw" on-air. 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.[9]
Presentation
The original set of Raw featured a standard 20' x 20' WWF style ring with the ropes colored red/white/navy blue. The ring posts, skirt, and steps were light blue. The mats on the floor, originally black, changed to light blue when Raw moved out of the Manhattan Center. A simple portal with a neon-lighted WWF logo served as the entrance-way. In late 1993, the ring skirt was changed to feature three WWF logos in red, white, and blue respectively on the hard camera side (and the side opposite), with the two sides on the left and right featuring a white skirt with "World Wrestling Federation" written beside the main logo. In 1995, the entrance-way was changed to feature large red letters that spelled "RAW", with the "A" featuring a video-wall in the center. After the program was rebranded as Raw is War in 1997, the "RAW" letters were replaced by a large projection-style screen, named the "TitanTron" with steel scaffolding supporting and surrounding the screen, and a long steel ramp leading down to the ring.
By April 1997, the ring posts were changed from blue to black, as were the turnbuckle covers, mats outside the ring, and ring steps. The ropes were originally colored red/black/red, but were quickly changed to all red. The ring skirt was also changed to a black design with "RAW IS WAR" in red and white on all four sides. By 1998, the TitanTron entrance-way adopted the new "WWF Attitude" logo at the portal as did the turnbuckle covers inside the ring. The metal security barriers surrounding ringside were replaced by black-padded walls. By 1999, a new TitanTron was designed with two additional vertical projection screens on either side, the USA Network logo at the top of the TitanTron (changed to the TNN logo after the network switch in September 2000) and a WWF.com logo at the bottom. By 2001, the logo at the portal was changed from a static prop to a small projection screen. After September 11, 2001, the Raw is War logos and nomenclature were retired and the ring skirts were redesigned to read simply "RAW." After the brand extension of 2002, the Raw set was drastically altered with a new parallelogram shaped TitanTron, new logos on the ring skirts featuring the new "RAW" logo on the front and back skirt (from the view of the hard camera), and a WWE.com logo on the left and right skirt. Also in 2002, the broadcast booth was moved from ringside to near the entrance. In 2005, the desk was moved back to ringside. In 2006, the Raw logo was changed again and was reflected on the ring skirts.
On January 7, 2008, WWE announced that all programming would be broadcast in HD, starting with Raw on January 21. WWE invested an estimated $20 million on new recording and broadcasting equipment to prepare for the move, as well as a new set featuring an HD Titantron, advanced pyrotechnics, and LED lighting. The move made this new HD set the universal set for all weekly programming. As part of Raw 1000 on July 23, 2012, a new modified HD set was introduced, which has also become universal for all weekly programming.[28][29]
Also in 2008, the black ring posts and steps were retired in favor of a silver color with the Raw logo adhered to the posts. The security walls outside the ring bore a WWE logo at the four corners, later changed to a WWE HD logo. In 2010, the red ring-ropes were retired after thirteen years and replaced by an all white scheme, which was also applied to the ring posts. In 2012, new ring skirts were introduced, showcasing the new Raw logo (facing the hard camera and opposite side) and a new WWE.com logo (left and right side).
From September 17–October 29, 2012, WWE worked in conjunction with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to raise awareness for breast cancer. As part of this initiative, the Raw set (including the ramp, hard camera side ring skirt, and announcers table) was adorned with pink ribbons and the ring featured a pink middle rope. On the October 29 episode, the joint campaign culminated with WWE making a $1 Million donation to the charity, with John Cena presenting the check to Susan G. Komen representatives in an in-ring ceremony.
Widely acclaimed episodes
April 8, 2013, edition of Raw
According to The Baltimore Sun and many other wrestling reviews and critics, the April 8, 2013 edition of Monday Night Raw, following WrestleMania 29, was one of wrestling greatest broadcasts and WWE's most impressive Raw. The episode has been characterized as having the "most animated and zany audience," in particular. In addition, the commentary and in-ring action have been described as riveting and electric.[30] The Sun went so far as stating that the Raw episode had one of the most incredible atmospheres in wrestling history, but noted that the vivacious crowd response was not merely because of the New Jersey crowd on hand, but because of remaining European fans still in the area from WrestleMania 29.[31]
The audience's antics consisted of singing and dancing to wrestler Fandango's theme music; an audience wave; random chants for non-active WWE talent and commentators, such as Randy Savage, HBK, RVD, JBL, and Michael Cole; explosive cheers for heel athletes, particularly for Dolph Ziggler upon successfully cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase; thanking of heel wrestler the Big Show for interfering on and ending a match between two babyface athletes (Randy Orton;Sheamus); self-satisfied chants, such as "We are awesome"; etc.[32][33][30]
Among some of the antics of the performers included John Cena's doing a dance in an attempt to cozy up to a deprecatory audience; Cena's alluding to a heel turn; Chris Jericho thrusting JBL's hat on his head during his match; Orton pausing mid-sentence and asking the Irishman off mic, “What’s my line?”[31]
Special episodes
| Episode | Date | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| WWF Monday Night Raw (Special) | January 11, 1993 | 2.5[34] | Series debut |
| Raw Bowl | January 1, 1996 | 2.6[35] | Super Bowl-themed episode, featuring a "Raw Bowl" |
| Raw Championship Friday | September 6, 1996 | 3.4[35] | Friday airing of Raw featuring WWF champions. |
| Royal Rumble Raw | February 3, 1997 | 2.6[35] | First two-hour Raw broadcast. Featured clips from the Royal Rumble. |
| Thursday Raw Thursday | February 13, 1997 | 3.3[35] | A Raw episode airing on a Thursday. |
| Raw is Owen | May 24, 1999 | 7.2[36] | Tribute in memory of Owen Hart. |
| Raw is War | March 26, 2001 | 4.7 | The final night of the Monday Night Wars. Vince McMahon addressed about the purchase of WCW by the WWF, which was also broadcast on WCW Monday Nitro. However, Shane McMahon interrupted his father's address by appearing on Nitro to say that he purchased WCW. |
| The Brand Extension Draft | March 25, 2002 | 5.4[37] | Start of the Brand Extension. Vince McMahon selects the SmackDown roster while Ric Flair selects the Raw roster. |
| 2002 Raw Roulette | October 7, 2002 | 3.8[38] | The 1st edition, introduced by then Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff. It featured the rosters of Raw and Smackdown. The stipulations of matches were decided by the spin of a wheel. |
| Raw X Anniversary | January 13, 2003 | 5.0[39] | Award show that celebrated the show's 10th anniversary. |
| 2003 Raw Roulette | November 24, 2003 | 3.6[38] | The 2nd edition that featured the rosters of Raw and Smackdown. It featured the first-ever women's Steel Cage Match in WWE history (Lita vs. Victoria). The stipulations of matches were decided by the spin of a wheel. |
| The 2004 WWE Draft Lottery | March 22, 2004 | 4.5[40] | The first Draft Lottery that featured a supplemental draft. |
| Live $250,000 Raw Diva Search Casting Special | July 12, 2004 | 1.1[40] | A Diva Search casting special with guest judges Chris Jericho, Edge, Randy Orton and Triple H. |
| Raw Homecoming | October 3, 2005 | 5.3[41] | First three-hour Raw broadcast. Return to the USA Network. |
| Eddie Guerrero Tribute Show | November 14, 2005 | 4.9[41] | Tribute in memory of Eddie Guerrero. |
| Tribute to the Troops | December 19, 2005 | 4.2[41] | Christmas from Afghanistan. Honored American armed forces. |
| Raw Family Reunion | October 9, 2006 | 5.0[42] | First Raw special to feature the rosters from all three brands. |
| Tribute to the Troops | December 25, 2006 | 4.1[42] | Christmas from Baghdad. Honored American armed forces. |
| 2007 WWE Draft | June 11, 2007 | 4.3[43] | Featured the rosters from all three brands. |
| Chris Benoit Memorial | June 25, 2007 | 3.8[43] | Memorial to Chris Benoit and his family. Clip show in international markets. |
| Raw 15th Anniversary | December 10, 2007 | 4.4[43][44] | Celebrated the show's 15th anniversary. |
| Tribute to the Troops | December 24, 2007 | 4.0[43] | Christmas from Iraq. Honored American armed forces. |
| 2008 Raw Roulette | January 7, 2008 | 3.2[38] | The 3rd edition that featured the rosters of Raw, Smackdown, and ECW. The stipulations of matches were decided by the spin of a wheel. |
| King of the Ring (2008) | April 21, 2008 | 3.0[45] | King of the Ring tournament. Featured the rosters from all three brands. |
| 2008 WWE Draft | June 23, 2008 | 3.4[45] | Featured the rosters from all three brands. |
| Raw's 800th Episode Celebration | November 3, 2008 | 3.0[45] | Celebrated the show's 800th episode. |
| 2008 Slammy Awards | December 8, 2008 | 3.2[45] | Slammy Award show. Featured the rosters from all three brands. |
| 2009 WWE Draft | April 13, 2009 | 3.7[46] | Featured the rosters from all three brands. |
| The Three-For-All | June 15, 2009 | 3.6[46][47] | Featured the rosters from all three brands. Three world championships were defended; WWE, ECW, and World Heavyweight. In addition, this broadcast would be the final episode that the ECW brand and members of its roster would be on Raw |
| Trump Raw | June 22, 2009 | 4.5[46][48] | The first commercial-free Raw broadcast. |
| A Raw Thanksgiving | November 23, 2009 | 3.3[46][49] | Featured the rosters from Raw and SmackDown. Jesse Ventura guest star. |
| 2009 Slammy Awards | December 14, 2009 | 3.3[46][50] | Slammy Award show. Featured the rosters from all three brands. Dennis Miller guest stars. |
| Raw's WrestleMania Rewind | March 15, 2010 | 3.7 | Featured re-matches from past WrestleMania events. Steve Austin guest stars. |
| Monday Night SmackDown | April 19, 2010 | 3.1 | Due to air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption, most of the Raw roster remained in Europe after a European tour. As a result, the SmackDown brand was featured in for the week's WWE Raw program. Will Forte, Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe guest star. |
| 2010 WWE Draft | April 26, 2010 | 3.1[51] | Featured the rosters from Raw and SmackDown. SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and John Cena took over authoritative duties. |
| Commercial-Free Raw | May 17, 2010 | 3.4 | The second commercial-free Raw broadcast. Buzz Aldrin guest stars.[52] |
| Three-Hour Viewer's Choice Raw | June 7, 2010 | 3.1 | Featured the rosters from Raw and SmackDown. Match selections were voted on WWE.com. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Sharlto Copley guest star.[53] Debut of the Nexus.[54] |
| Raw's 900th Episode Celebration | August 30, 2010 | 3.5 | Celebrated the show's 900th episode. |
| 2010 Raw Roulette | September 13, 2010 | 3.0[55] | The 4th edition that featured the rosters of Raw and Smackdown. The stipulations of matches were decided by the spin of a wheel. NFL Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco guest starred. |
| WWE Old School (2010) | November 15, 2010 | 3.3 | Three-Hour edition that featured appearances by former talent and personalities. Everything in the show was also supposed to temporarily revert to the 1993 RAW format; however while some items from 1993 were used (such as the ring and the theme music), it used 1980s-era WWF opening as well as the stage set-up from around 1996, making it more of an anachronism-type episode than an actual "old-school" episode. |
| King of the Ring (2010) | November 29, 2010 | 3.1 | Three-Hour King of the Ring tournament. Featured talent from both Raw and SmackDown. Miss USA Rima Fakih guest stars. |
| 2010 Slammy Awards | December 13, 2010 | 3.1 | Slammy Award show. Featured the rosters from Raw and SmackDown. |
| 2011 WWE Draft | April 25, 2011 | 3.6 | Featured the rosters from Raw and SmackDown. |
| The Rock's Birthday Bash | May 2, 2011 | 3.3 | Birthday celebration for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in his hometown of Miami, FL Mýa and Pitbull guest star.[56] |
| WWE All Star Night | June 13, 2011 | 3.5 | Three-Hour edition that featured talent from Raw and SmackDown. WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin served as special guest Raw General Manager. The episode's alternative title was Stone Cold Raw. |
| Power to the People | June 20, 2011 | 3.2 | Three-Hour edition that featured the rosters from Raw and SmackDown. Match selections were voted via mobile phone. |
| 2011 Raw Roulette | June 27, 2011 | 3.1[57] | The 5th edition that featured the rosters from Raw and Smackdown. The stipulations of matches were decided by the spin of a wheel. WWE Hall of Famer "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels guest stars. CM Punk also made his famous "pipebomb" shoot speech at the end of the show. |
| Raw Gets Rocked | November 14, 2011 | 3.0 | Three-Hour edition featuring The Rock and Mick Foley. |
| 2011 Slammy Awards | December 21, 2011 | 2.8 | Three-hour Slammy Award ceremony. |
| Raw Supershow Extreme[58] | April 23, 2012 | 3.1 | Special Three-hour Raw SuperShow announced. |
| Raw 1000 | July 23, 2012 | 3.9 | Special episode celebrating the show's 1000th episode. This episode also starts the permanent 3-hour format, and introduces new logo of Raw. Held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri Charlie Sheen (via Skype) served special guest star and featured special appearances from legends and Hall of Famers |
| Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night | August 6, 2012 | 3.1 | Special episode for hometown Shawn Michaels in San Antonio[59] |
| 2012 Slammy Awards | December 17, 2012 | 3.1 | Slammy Award ceremony held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
| Raw Christmas Special | December 24, 2012 | 2.2 | Christmas themed edition of Raw |
| Champions Choice Night | December 31, 2012 | 2.3 | The last Raw of 2012. Every title (except the WWE Championship, which was defended the next week) was on the line and the champions got to choose their opponent(s) |
| 20th Anniversary Special | January 14, 2013 | 3.2 | 20th anniversary special of Raw held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.[60] |
| 2013 Raw Roulette | January 28, 2013 | 3.7 | Live from Las Vegas Match opponents and stipulations decided by the spin of the wheel.[61] |
| WWE Old School (2013) | March 4, 2013 | 3.5 | Special edition featuring appearances by former talent and personalities. Like the previous Old School Raw, this was more of an anachronism-type episode, with some key differences from the 2010 episode being the use of the Attitude Era theme song from the War Zone segment during backstage segments right before commercial, as well as the use of a modified 1980's WWF logo without the "F"; the latter was the result of the 2012 settlement between the WWE and World Wide Fund for Nature that allowed the WWE to uncensor the Attitude Era WWF scratch logo in archival footage in exchange of no further use of any WWF logos in new, original footage.[62] |
| Paul Bearer Tribute Show | March 11, 2013 | 3.4 | A Tribute to Paul Bearer who passed away the week before. The show featured highlights of his career as well as superstars paying their respects. |
On-air personalities
Champions
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Date won | Event | Previous champion(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WWE Championship | John Cena | April 7, 2013 | WrestleMania 29 | The Rock |
| World Heavyweight Championship | Dolph Ziggler | April 8, 2013 | Raw | Alberto Del Rio |
| WWE Intercontinental Championship | Wade Barrett | April 8, 2013 | Raw | The Miz |
| WWE United States Championship | Antonio Cesaro | August 19, 2012 | SummerSlam | Santino Marella |
| WWE Tag Team Championship | Team Hell No (Kane & Daniel Bryan) |
September 16, 2012 | Night of Champions | Kofi Kingston & R-Truth |
| WWE Divas Championship | Kaitlyn | January 14, 2013 | Raw 20th Anniversary Special | Eve Torres |
Authority figures
| Authority figures | Position | Date started | Date finished | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ric Flair | Owner | November 19, 2001 | June 10, 2002 | Lost his position as per stipulation in a match against Mr. McMahon. |
| Mr. McMahon | Owner | June 10, 2002 | June 15, 2009 | New General Managers were assigned to Raw and SmackDown in the following weeks. |
| Eric Bischoff | General Manager | July 15, 2002 | April 28, 2003 | The WWE Board of Directors appointed Steve Austin as Co-General Manager of RAW after Bischoff repeatedly abused his power. |
| Eric Bischoff and Steve Austin | Co-General Managers | April 29, 2003 | November 16, 2003 | Austin lost his position of co-GM when his team lost to Bischoff's team at Survivor Series. |
| Eric Bischoff | General Manager | November 16, 2003 | December 1, 2003 | Mick Foley appoints himself as Co-GM after being given an outside consultant job from Linda McMahon and the board of directors. |
| Eric Bischoff and Mick Foley | Co-General Managers | December 1, 2003 | December 15, 2003 | Mick Foley walked out on a match with Randy Orton for the WWE Intercontinental Championship and gave up the position as Co-GM based on the match stipulations. |
| Eric Bischoff | General Manager | December 15, 2003 | December 5, 2005 | Steve Austin served as "Sheriff" periodically through Bischoff's term. Fired by Mr. McMahon in December 2005 when he was tossed into the garbage truck. |
| Jonathan Coachman | General Manager | June 11, 2007 | August 6, 2007 | Served as "Executive Assistant" from May 2006 to June 2007 and from August 2007 to January 2008. |
| William Regal | General Manager | August 6, 2007 | May 19, 2008 | Lost his position as general manager due to being fired by Mr. McMahon after losing a match to Mr. Kennedy. Jonathan Coachman served as executive assistant from August 2007 to January 2008. |
| Mike Adamle | General Manager | July 28, 2008 | November 3, 2008 | Resigned in November 2008. |
| Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon | Co-General Managers | November 3, 2008 | November 24, 2008 | Control reverted to the McMahons. The position was then claimed by Stephanie McMahon. |
| Stephanie McMahon | General Manager | November 24, 2008 | April 6, 2009 | Took leave of absence on February 23, 2009. Vickie Guerrero served as "Interim General Manager" until April 2009. |
| Vickie Guerrero | General Manager | April 6, 2009 | June 8, 2009 | Opted to fully take over the position on Raw and resigned as General Manager of SmackDown. Resigned in June 2009. |
| Donald Trump | Owner | June 15, 2009 | June 22, 2009 | It was announced that Trump had purchased the Raw franchise from Mr. McMahon on June 15, 2009.[63] |
| Mr. McMahon | Owner, Chairman and CEO | June 22, 2009 | present | |
| Various guest hosts | Guest host | June 29, 2009 | May 10, 2010 | An initiative established during Donald Trump's brief period of ownership. The guest star position held authoritative control over the brand until May 10, 2010. |
| Vickie Guerrero | General Manager | May 10, 2010 | May 10, 2010 | Resigned following the first day of tenure. |
| Bret Hart | General Manager | May 24, 2010 | June 21, 2010 | Removed of position by Mr. McMahon. |
| Anonymous Raw General Manager (revealed to be Hornswoggle) | General Manager | June 21, 2010 | July 18, 2011 | Communications from the General Manager were received via email through a laptop on a podium and occasionally Michael Cole's iPad. The General Manager stopped sending emails when Triple H became COO. The laptop and podium were removed after October 2, 2011.[64] On the July 9, 2012 edition, it was revealed that Hornswoggle was behind the gimmick. |
| Triple H | Chief Operating Officer | July 18, 2011 | present | The Board of Directors removed Vince McMahon from day to day power and handed the duties to his son-in-law. However, his authoritative control powers as general manager of running Raw are no longer needed and still remains as COO (see below). |
| Theodore Long | Assistant to the COO | September 5, 2011 | October 10, 2011 | Long was appointed by COO Triple H to aid him in running Raw Supershows, due to his being General Manager of Smackdown!. |
| John Laurinaitis | General Manager | October 10, 2011 | June 17, 2012 | Won position, Team Johnny vs Team Teddy at WrestleMania XXVIII. Fired at No Way Out by Mr. McMahon as per pre match stipulation when John Cena defeated Big Show in a Steel cage match. |
| David Otunga | Legal Advisor | October 11, 2011 | June 17, 2012 | Lost the position following Laurinaitis' firing. |
| Theodore Long | Assistant to the General Manager | April 2, 2012 | June 17, 2012 | Became Laurinaitis' assistant after Team Teddy lost to Team Johnny at WrestleMania XXVIII. |
| Eve Torres | Executive Administrator | April 23, 2012 | June 17, 2012 | Lost the position following Laurinaitis' firing. |
| Interim General Managers | Guest GM | June 18, 2012 | July 16, 2012 | Following Laurinaitis' firing, the Board of Directors would invite past Raw GMs and Commissioners to run both Raw and SmackDown on a weekly basis until a new full-time GM is named. |
| AJ Lee | General Manager | July 23, 2012 | October 22, 2012 | Was named the new Raw GM by Mr. McMahon. Was forced to step down due to allegations of fraternizing with an unnamed superstar, which was later revealed to be John Cena by Vickie Guerrero. |
| Vickie Guerrero | Managing Supervisor | October 22, 2012 | present | Mr. McMahon named Guerrero as the Managing Supervisor after AJ Lee resigned. |
| Booker T | Acting Managing Supervisor | December 24, 2012 | December 24, 2012 | Was Supposed to get a Day Off until Santa got ran over by Del Rio. |
| Brad Maddox | Assistant to the Managing Supervisor | February 18, 2013 | present | Named by Guerrero as a reward for revealing that Paul Heyman and CM Punk were working with The Shield. |
Commentators
| Commentators | Dates |
|---|---|
| Vince McMahon, Randy Savage and Rob Bartlett | January 11, 1993 – April 19, 1993 |
| Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan and Randy Savage | April 26, 1993 – October 18, 1993 |
| Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan | October 25, 1993 – December 6, 1993 |
| Vince McMahon and Various Guest Commentators | December 13, 1993 – February 28, 1994 November 7, 1994 – November 28, 1994 |
| Gorilla Monsoon and Randy Savage | June 20, 1994 – July 4, 1994 |
| Jim Ross and Randy Savage | July 11, 1994 – July 25, 1994 |
| Vince McMahon and Randy Savage | March 7, 1994 – June 13, 1994 August 1, 1994 – October 31, 1994 |
| Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels | December 5, 1994 – February 6, 1995 |
| Vince McMahon and Jim Cornette | February 20, 1995 – April 3, 1995 |
| Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler | April 10, 1995 – July 29, 1996 |
| Kevin Kelly, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler | August 5, 1996 – October 14, 1996 |
| Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler | October 21, 1996 – November 3, 1997 |
| Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler | November 1997 – November 1998 April 1999 – February 2001 November 19, 2001 – June 19, 2005 May 8, 2006 – June 23, 2008 |
| Jim Ross, Michael Cole and Kevin Kelly[1] | December 1997 – February 1998 |
| Jim Cornette and Shane McMahon | September 21, 1998 |
| Jim Ross and Michael Hayes[2] | December 20, 1999 |
| Jim Ross and Paul Heyman | March 5, 2001 – July 9, 2001 July 30, 2001 – November 12, 2001 |
| Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler and Jonathan Coachman | June 26, 2005 – October 10, 2005 |
| Jonathan Coachman and Jerry Lawler | October 17, 2005 – October 31, 2005 |
| Joey Styles, Jerry Lawler and Jonathan Coachman | November 7, 2005 – April 16, 2006 |
| Joey Styles and Jerry Lawler | April 23, 2006 – May 1, 2006 |
| Jim Ross and Tazz | August 20, 2007 |
| Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and CM Punk | November 22, 2010 – December 20, 2010 |
| Michael Cole, Josh Mathews, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler[3] | April 4, 2011 – May 2, 2011 |
| Michael Cole, Josh Mathews, and Jerry Lawler[4] | December 27, 2010 – March 28, 2011 May 9, 2011 – May 23, 2011 |
| Michael Cole and Josh Matthews | September 19, 2011 August 27, 2012 |
| Michael Cole, Jim Ross and Booker T[5] | September 26, 2011 – October 3, 2011 |
| Michael Cole, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler | July 25, 2011 – October 10, 2011 July 23, 2012 |
| Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Booker T | November 21, 2011 March 26, 2012 |
| Michael Cole and The Miz | September 3, 2012 |
| Michael Cole, Jim Ross and JBL[6] | September 17, 2012 October 8, 2012 |
| Michael Cole and Jim Ross[7] | March 1998 – June 1998 July 16, 2001 – July 23, 2001 September 24, 2012 – October 1, 2012 October 15, 2012 – November 12, 2012 |
| Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler and JBL[8] | January 14, 2013 |
| Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL | December 17, 2012 January 14, 2013 January 28, 2013 April 1, 2013 – April 8, 2013 |
| Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler | November 1998 – April 1999 June 30, 2008 – November 15, 2010 May 30, 2011 – July 18, 2011 October 10, 2011 – September 10, 2012 November 12, 2012 – present |
^ Mathews became the alternate color commentator on Raw beginning December 27, 2010 due to Lawler's increased in-ring schedule (Lawler would continue as commentator when he was not wrestling). On March 14, 2011, Raw began using a full-time three man team with Cole announcing from his own separate table ("The Cole Mine"). Ross has also returned to the broadcast table since making his broadcast return at WrestleMania XXVII and the four announcers worked in rotating three man shifts. This ended on the May 23, 2011 edition of Raw when Michael Cole returned to the normal announce table. However, Mathews still serves as an alternate commentator for Raw if any member of the announce team is unable to continue with their duties.
^ From November 1997 until July 1998 Jim Ross served as play by play commentator for both hours of Raw, with the Michael Cole/Kevin Kelly tandem (later just Cole) as color commentator for the first hour ("Raw Is War"), with Jerry Lawler taking over for the second hour ("The War Zone").
^ Filled in for Jerry Lawler, who was recovering from injury.
^ Filled in for Jerry Lawler, who was recovering from a heart attack.
^ JBL sat in with Cole and Ross during Jerry Lawler recovering.
^ Ross sat in for Cole, who allowed him to call the main event.
Ring announcers
| Ring announcers | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Howard Finkel | January 11, 1993 – August 26, 2002 | Occasionally appears on Raw as a guest ring announcer |
| Tony Chimel | April 1997 – August 16, 1999 | Made a one night return on May 30, 2011 |
| Lilian Garcia | August 23, 1999 – present | Made a one night return on April 19, 2010, filling in for Justin Roberts when the Raw roster was stuck in Europe after the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption; Also returned at the June 25, 2012 Episode of Raw, Raw 1000 on July 23, 2012, and at Raw's 20th Anniversary on January 14, 2013. |
| Justin Roberts | March 2007 – June 2007 September 27, 2009 – present |
Recurring segments
| Segments | Hosts | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The King's Court | Jerry Lawler | 1993 – 1995 | In-ring interview segment. |
| The Heartbreak Hotel | Shawn Michaels | 1994 | In-ring interview segment. |
| The Brother Love Show | Brother Love | 1995 – 1996 | In-ring interview segment. |
| The Pillman XXX Files | Brian Pillman | 1997 | Video segment. Discontinued following Pillman's death. |
| The Love Shack | Dude Love | 1998 | In-ring interview segment. |
| Highlight Reel | Chris Jericho | 2003 – 2005 2008 – 2010 2012 2013 |
In-ring interview segment. |
| White Boy Challenge | Rodney Mack Theodore R. Long |
2003 | Five minute match challenge to Caucasian talent. Discontinued following Mack's defeat by Goldberg |
| WWE Diva Search | Jonathan Coachman The Miz Todd Grisham |
2004 – 2007 | WWE Diva Search competition segment.[65] |
| Masterlock Challenge | Chris Masters | 2005 – 2007 2010 |
Submission challenge to break Masters' Masterlock hold. Discontinued after Bobby Lashley broke the hold. |
| Kurt Angle Invitational | Kurt Angle | 2005 | Three minute match challenge for Angle's gold medals. Discontinued after Angle moved to SmackDown. |
| Carlito's Cabana | Carlito | 2005 2007 – 2008 |
In-ring interview segment. Discontinued after Carlito moved to SmackDown. |
| Piper's Pit | Roddy Piper | 2005 2010 2012 |
In-ring interview segment. |
| The Cutting Edge | Edge | 2005 – 2007 2010 |
In-ring interview segment. Discontinued after Edge moved to SmackDown and was forced to retire from professional wrestling. |
| VIP Lounge | MVP | 2009 – 2010 | In-ring interview segment. Discontinued after MVP was drafted to SmackDown and released from WWE. |
| Khali Kiss Cam | The Great Khali | 2011 | In-ring fan interaction segment. |
| Miz TV | The Miz | 2004,2012 – present | In-ring interview segment. |
International broadcasters
The show airs live on the USA Network (and on tape delay Wednesdays on mun2 in English, Saturdays on Universal HD, and Sundays on mun2 in Spanish (Morning broadcast) and in the original English (5pm Eastern broadcast) in the United States). Occasionally, Raw is aired on same-day tape delay when WWE is on an overseas tour. Raw is also shown live on Sky Sports 3 in the UK and Ireland and on Sky Sport 2 in Italy. Sky Deutschland in Germany began airing Raw live and in HD on February 14, 2011. Raw has also been airing live in Mexico on TVC Deportes since October 6, 2008 and on over-the-air network Canal 5 since June 18, 2012.[66][67]
See also
References
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