WWE Employee Claims Two-Hour RAW Will Encourage Talent to Fight for Their Spot

For several years, Monday Night RAW was a two-hour show, but in 2012, WWE extended it to three hours. Now, after more than a decade, RAW is going back to its original two-hour format. A WWE employee claims that this change will motivate talent to compete harder for their spot on the show.

On the September 9 edition of Monday Night RAW, part of WWE Week on the USA Network, it was officially announced that RAW will return to a two-hour format starting October 7. The show will air from 8/7c to 10/9c each week until its final episode on the USA Network, which is scheduled for December 30.

While speaking on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T talked about RAW moving back to a two-hour format for the rest of 2024. He said this change could make the show more manageable but would push wrestlers to step up their game.

With the show being shorter, not all talents will be featured every week, which he believes will increase competition and encourage wrestlers to perform better to fight for a spot on the show. He also mentioned that this shift could help avoid oversaturation and provide a better balance for both the show and the wrestlers.

 “It’s more manageable, but guys are going to have to really, really step up their game to want to be a part of that two hours. You know, that extra hour of being gone means some talents are not going to be seen on the show that week. So it’s definitely going to create more of a buzz for competition, for guys to actually really go out there and step up their game if they want to be on that show on a weekly basis. It might be good also, from a perspective to where guys aren’t being seen and oversaturated at the same time, and not being on television on a weekly basis. So it’s the best of both worlds.”

We have also reported on the reason behind this shift to the two-hour format, as it was ultimately made by the USA Network and believe the change to two hours will eliminate fillers from the show as well. As WWE prepares to move to Netflix on January 6, 2025, it’s unclear how fans will respond to RAW’s new two-hour format. Some may appreciate the shorter show, while others might miss the three-hour length that has been common in recent years.

Are you looking forward to RAW being two hours again for the time being? Let us know in the comments section below!