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184-782: WWE Raw , also known as Monday Night Raw or simply Raw , is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE . It currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network . The show features characters from the Raw brand , to which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform. It debuted on January 11, 1993, and is considered to be one of WWE's two flagship programs, along with Friday Night SmackDown . In September 2000, Raw moved from USA Network to TNN, which rebranded to Spike TV in August 2003. On October 3, 2005, Raw returned to USA Network, where it will remain until January 2025 when it moves to

368-407: A chokeslam , but Undetaker lifted his shoulders off the mat before the three-count could be made. Kane put The Undertaker into a sleeper hold that he eventually fought out of with a flurry of punches. Undertaker then dropped Kane on top of the ropes and punched him off the apron; he followed this with an over the top rope suicide dive that Kane managed to sidestep, sending Undertaker crashing through

552-446: A " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of

736-553: A 2003 episode of WWE Confidential , the show utilized 13 cameras at the time at a cost of $ 85,000. 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. On October 9, 2006, the show debuted a new logo and opening intro featuring " ...To Be Loved " by Papa Roach as its theme song. This logo and intro were retained until November 9, 2009,

920-554: A 27-hour tape delay, but has started airing live as of February 4, 2014. Syfy 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. On September 24, 2012, Hulu signed

1104-449: A Spanish Raw on Telemundo . On the same week as Raw ' s return to USA Network, Spike TV scheduled Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)'s live Ultimate Fight Night in Raw 's old timeslot in an attempt to go head-to-head with Raw . Since the return to USA Network, Raw has been pre-empted during the U.S. Open , which aired on USA , resulting in Raw to be moved to SciFi , a sister channel to USA, for three years. Since 2016,

1288-521: A back drop to deposit him into the dumpster and, as he attempted to climb out, they simultaneously slammed the lid shut on the hardcore legends' heads. With Cactus and Charlie both in the dumpster, the Outlaws shut the lid down on them, but Cactus managed to get back up while the Outlaws were celebrating and pushed Road Dogg down to the ground with a mandible claw, pulling him into the dumpster. Both teams took time to recover and began to brawl with weapons in

1472-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over

1656-459: A baseball bat, allowing Helmsley to capitalize and win the title back. Due to his jealousy over the attention his wife and valet , Sable , was garnering from the crowd, Marc Mero would try to intentionally cover up Sable's provocative clothing and eventually send her to the back during his matches, replacing her with The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust , who at the time was dressing up from week-to-week in his own bid of self-attention. Although

1840-437: A boot to the face after an Irish whip from Mero, but could not get Vachon to enter the ring. A near-pinfall came from a running crossbody from Mero and following this, the two ran into each other, causing both men to crawl and tag in the women. Sable then took Luna down and punched her around the face before kicking her in the midsection and face in the turnbuckle and attacking Goldust, before running back to clothesline Vachon over

2024-469: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so

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2208-519: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to

2392-467: A chair shot to the head and then a tombstone piledriver onto the chair. After Kane and Bearer left, Undertaker sat up and left the ring. With Mike Tyson enforcing from ringside, the WWF Championship match began with both wrestlers taunting each other, engaging in a few light punches before Shawn Michaels escaped the ring and ran back in to take advantage of Stone Cold Steve Austin , but

2576-585: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from

2760-538: A championship match by way of a fractured kneecap (which was, in fact, legitimate), Triple H finally acquiesced to a match on the January 26 edition of Raw Is War , only for The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust (who was dressing up from week-to-week in a bid for attention) to appear in Helmsley's place. After Hart won the match, WWF Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter declared the disguise to be so convincing that he upheld

2944-465: A cymbal from the DX Band's stage, before Irish whipping Austin into the dumpster. As the match resumed in the ring, Austin met Michaels's high-risk maneuver with a clothesline and then ran him into the turnbuckle before picking him up for an inverted atomic drop. Michaels' attempt to pick up some momentum saw him picked up and dropped onto the ropes, but Michaels managed to push Austin away as he attempted

3128-403: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . WrestleMania XIV WrestleMania XIV (marketed as WrestleMania dX raided )

3312-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers

3496-555: 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". At this time, the new WWE logo began appearing on the ring's turnbuckle covers, and USA Network logo moved to

3680-414: A genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has a more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for

3864-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have

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4048-522: A major superstar in the company for many years, having won his first WWF Championship at WrestleMania two years previously , took a four-year hiatus from wrestling due to a severe back injury sustained during the casket match against Undertaker at the Royal Rumble. During his retirement, Shawn made several ostensible one-off appearances as a guest commentator during episodes of Raw Is War in the summer of 1998, and eventually replacing Sgt. Slaughter as

4232-428: A match against Barry Windham , Hart landed awkwardly on his ankle, suffering a sprained ankle with ligament damage as a result. On a special Tuesday edition of Raw Is War on March 17, Hart joined the commentary team with a supportive cast on his leg. This would bring Triple H to ringside, where he goaded Owen into an impromptu title defense despite his cast. During the match, Chyna appeared and struck Owen's ankle with

4416-744: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned

4600-486: A match against Kane, Triple H appeared on the ramp and lured Austin to him. Austin fell for the trap, and promptly turned around into a Sweet Chin Music by Michaels which knocked him out, a trap which occurred again the following week. Also that week, during a St. Patrick's Day Tuesday broadcast of Raw Is War on March 17, Austin called out Vince McMahon and verbally berated him for describing Mike Tyson as "the baddest man on

4784-539: A match at Unforgiven: In Your House , where the ring would be surrounded by fire. The first man to be set ablaze would lose, thus giving birth to the Inferno Match . By winning the fifteen-team battle royal, LOD 2000 won the right to face the WWF Tag Team Champions at Unforgiven. The champions by rights were Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie, but some legal wrangling from The New Age Outlaws saw

4968-401: A match on Raw, where both women were handcuffed to the ring posts in an effort to prevent their brawling. But after the referee was knocked down, Goldust stole the key and unchained Luna who attacked Sable with make up , painting her face before also throwing water on her. Goldust then challenged Mero and Sable to a mixed tag team match at WrestleMania XIV. After successively beating members of

5152-529: 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 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 in 2016, WWE began with airing

5336-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to

5520-889: A one-hour version airs on MBC Action at 8 PM Egypt Standard Time . It also airs on FM1 in Iran and on Sport 1 and Sport 1 HD in Israel. Raw further began airing on S Sport and S Sport Plus in Turkey. In Germany, Raw airs live and is on-demand on the Website of Bild , only for Bild+ Subscribers and with German commentary on ProSieben MAXX every Wednesday at 10pm. In Belgium, Raw airs on ABXplore (in French) and on Play6 . In Czech Republic, Raw airs on Nova Sport . In France, Raw airs on AB1 every Wednesday with French commentary. In Italy, Raw airs live on Discovery Plus and with

5704-475: A period that also saw the changeover to broadcasting Raw in high-definition , which occurred on January 21, 2008. From November 16, 2009, to July 16, 2012, the theme song for the Raw brand was " Burn It to the Ground " by Nickelback . 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

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5888-572: A referee and then an official before calming down as Maivia was wheeled away on a gurney. Howard Finkel then announced Shamrock had been disqualified for not breaking his ankle lock submission, meaning The Rock would retain the Intercontinental championship. This would cause Shamrock to become enraged and chase Rocky, and dump him off of the gurney and fighting him on the Chris Warren band stage. The WWF Tag Team Championship match

6072-569: 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 . 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 purchase of WCW and the September 11 attacks ,

6256-409: A stunner. When Michaels tried to escape the ring though, Austin delivered a right hand, forcing the champion to fall upon the announce table. After Austin slowed the match down with a sleeper hold, Michaels tried to pull his knee into the ring post but was instead pulled into it himself. Austin then tried to rush at Michaels, but was back dropped into the crowd and struck with the ring bell. Michaels used

6440-659: A successful improvement. However, the weekly live schedule proved to be a financial drain on the WWF. From spring 1993 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 in Poughkeepsie , New York in April 1993, and again in June and October. The first episode produced outside of New York

6624-402: A three-count. Shamrock then rolled out of the ring and grabbed a steel chair; when the referee tried to take it off him, he threw the referee into the corner; Maivia quickly grabbed the chair and hit Shamrock with it as the referee recovered. Shamrock kicked out and quickly re-gained the advantage, delivering a belly-to-belly suplex off an Irish whip and then securing his ankle lock submission in

6808-427: A tombstone piledriver of his own; but Kane kicked out. This would mark the first time anyone had ever kicked out of Undertaker's tombstone piledriver. It would take three tombstones with a guillotine leg drop and flying clothesline in between to stop Kane. But in the end, Undertaker scored the pin and was victorious. As soon as the match was over, Bearer attacked Undertaker and ordered Kane to attack him, which he did with

6992-503: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in

7176-586: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point

7360-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted

7544-827: Is broadcast live on ESPN 4 for Central America and on Fox Sports 2 in South America, in Mexico it is broadcast on Fox Sports, in Argentina on Fox Sports 3, in Chile on Fox Sports 1 and in Brazil on Fox Sports 2 and ESPN Extra, (also available on Star+ for Central and South America). 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

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7728-428: Is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain

7912-579: The 2022 Winter Olympics . A similar arrangement occurred in August 2024 for the 2024 Summer Olympics . The name for Raw was disputed in June 2009 when Muscle Flex Inc., a Los Angeles -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 . On June 18, 2008,

8096-422: The 3-Minute Warning assaulting Kitana Baker). These actions are supposed to be in order to meet Canadian broadcast standards, with repeat broadcasts 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

8280-601: The Amway Center in Orlando. On May 21, 2021, WWE announced that they will return in front of live fans with a 25 city tour, therefore the July 12, 2021 edition of Raw would be the final WWE ThunderDome show. In September 2023, USA Network announced that SmackDown would return to the network in October 2024 after the expiration of its contract with Fox ; it was concurrently reported that the rights to Raw and NXT were on

8464-678: 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 , but failed to file the required documents by

8648-514: The Cruiserweight Championship would be defended at the event more than once. After throwing Taka out the ring and baseball sliding into him, Águila hit an asai moonsault outside the ring, but was soon the victim of a springboard crossbody after Taka reversed a suplex from the apron. Águila almost won the match with a moonsault crossbody into a pin, but remained on the offensive with a frankensteiner . Taka tried to land

8832-484: The Michinoku Driver , but as Aguila flipped out and attempted a hurricanrana, Taka managed a powerbomb reversal. Taka then stopped a high flying dive attempt by Aguila with a dropkick, before successfully executing a Michinoku Driver and picking up the win. After the match, both contestants shook each other's hand and celebrated together. Also, partway into the matchup, Jim Ross made a fleeting comment about

9016-816: The Nation of Domination week after week, Ken Shamrock initially defeated the Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia (later known as The Rock) at the Royal Rumble despite being hit with a foreign object , seemingly winning the title. However, The Rock convinced the referee that it was, in fact, he who suffered an illegal attack and the referee reversed his decision (Maivia had placed the foreign object in Shamrock's trunks after hitting him with it). The following month at No Way Out of Texas: In Your House , Shamrock capitalized on

9200-502: The Netflix streaming platform, which is scheduled to broadcast the program for a period of at least 10 years. The WWE Network ceased operations in the United States on April 5, 2021, with all content being moved to Peacock , which currently has most previous Raw episodes, excluding content that was censored or removed by Peacock's standards and practices department. Recent episodes are still available for on-demand viewing 30 days after

9384-624: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In

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9568-600: The September 11 attacks , the first hour was referred to as Raw instead of Raw Is War , and the second hour was rebranded from the War Zone to the Raw Zone within the show's on-screen graphics. The Monday Night War had ended months earlier with the WWF's purchase of the competing WCW brand. Monday Nitro , which had once gone head-to-head with Raw , aired its final show in March. WWF announcers began generally referring to

9752-743: The Spike TV logo on August 11, 2003, upon network relaunch. During the July 25, 2005 broadcast of Raw in Cleveland , Ohio , a special stage design was built for the John Cena - Chris Jericho Battle of the Bands concert. The 2002 set was designed by Production Designer Jason Robinson. It featured a larger TitanTron with dimensions of 55 feet wide by 25 feet tall. The expanded structure weighed about 4,000 pounds and requiring three 18,000-watt projector screens to power itself. According to Eric Bischoff on

9936-413: The USA Network as a replacement for Prime Time Wrestling , 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 pre-taped on sound stages with small audiences or at large arena shows. The Raw formula was considerably different from the pre-taped weekend shows that aired at

10120-776: The United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including a distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by

10304-746: The WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida without an audience until further notice beginning with the following day's episode of SmackDown due to the COVID-19 pandemic 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 inside of

10488-443: The ratings war for the first time in eighty-four weeks. Shawn Michaels' loss was criticized by Triple H the following night on Raw Is War , with Triple H blaming Michaels for overlooking Tyson's potential double-cross. Helmsley delivered a promo saying that he would now lead D-Generation X and turn it into an army, saying "the first thing you do is look to your blood. You look to your buddies. You look to your friends. You look...to

10672-618: The "Big Four", and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs, along with King of the Ring . WrestleMania XIV was scheduled to be held on March 29, 1998, at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts . In print advertisements, the event was billed as "WrestleMania: dX raided". After the Legion of Doom lost their WWF Tag Team Championship to The New Age Outlaws , they were then assaulted by

10856-528: The "WWF Attitude" banner on the sides. By 1999, the WWF placed a "WWF.com: 'Download This!'" logo on the bottom of the TitanTron and added two vertical sides on the stage. Raw moved to TNN from USA beginning with the September 25, 2000 episode. The TNN network logo was added atop the TitanTron on the December 11, 2000 episode. Chyron graphics were added to the bottom beginning with the July 2, 2001 episode. Beginning October 1, 2001, in direct response to

11040-628: The 1000th broadcast. Raw also celebrated its thirtieth anniversary on RAW IS XXX on January 23, 2023. The wrestlers featured on WWE take part in scripted feuds and storylines . Wrestlers are portrayed as heroes , villains , or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match. The primary commentators for Raw are Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett . Additional commentary has been provided by Jim Ross , Michael Cole , Joey Styles , Tom Phillips , Kevin Patrick and others since its creation. In

11224-584: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in

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11408-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in

11592-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide

11776-411: The 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance the spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from

11960-653: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike

12144-460: The Italian commentary 7 days after on DMAX. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling

12328-557: The Kliq ", before introducing a returning Sean Waltman , now under the "X-Pac" persona, who had re-signed with the company after being fired from World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Later in the evening, it was revealed that Road Dogg and Billy Gunn were also part of the DX Army . The ongoing saga between The Undertaker and Kane continued to escalate even further. The following night, Paul Bearer challenged Undertaker on behalf of Kane to

12512-734: The Manhattan Center. On the February 19 episode of Raw , six days before Elimination Chamber , seven participants of the men's Elimination Chamber match, Braun Strowman , Elias , Finn Bálor , John Cena , Roman Reigns , Seth Rollins and The Miz , were involved in a Gauntlet match 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 would air from

12696-439: The March 2 episode of Raw Is War , Mike Tyson appeared once again to be interviewed by Vince McMahon, only for DX to interrupt; Shawn Michaels then challenged Tyson to a fight. After both men's entourages left the ring, the two taunted each other for a bit until Michaels would rip off Tyson's shirt, revealing a DX T-shirt underneath, showing the enforcer's degenerate alliance; Later in the evening, as Austin came out to take place in

12880-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from

13064-488: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into

13248-585: The New Age Outlaws became part of the DX Army, achieving further success. In a tag team match against Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman, Rocky Maivia promised to show Faarooq that the Nation was stronger and more connected than ever before. The promise was a sour one as, during the match, Rocky left Faarooq to suffer the wrath of Shamrock and Blackman. Afterwards, Faarooq demanded that Rocky come back out so

13432-556: The November 16, 2015, episode of Raw , WWE had a moment of silence for the victims of the terrorist attack in Paris , France, on November 13, 2015. Another moment of silence was held months later in June for the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting . 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

13616-448: The Outlaws and D-Generation X . At the Royal Rumble , the LOD lost a championship match, thanks in large part to Road Dogg handcuffing Hawk outside of the ring. Following this, they suffered two defeats at the hands of NWA members Jeff Jarrett and Barry Windham . Finally, on the February 23 episode of Raw Is War , the LOD once again lost to The New Age Outlaws when, despite having

13800-644: The Pedigree and retain the title. After she was freed from the handcuffs, Chyna nailed Slaughter with a forearm and shoved him over the barricade into the crowd. Next up was the mixed tag team match. Marc Mero and Goldust began the match, but Goldust soon tagged in Luna Vachon , requiring Sable to be tagged in too, as per the rules. However, Vachon simply ran around the outside of the ring with Sable chasing her, before tagging Goldust back in. Wanting to get her hands on Vachon, Sable double-teamed Goldust with

13984-538: The Spanish announce table. As Undertaker made it back into the ring, Kane hit him with a flying lariat . Undertaker then attempted to give Kane the Tombstone Piledriver, but Kane managed to shift his weight, reversing the positions and allowing Kane to deliver the tombstone to Undertaker instead. Undertaker kicked out and after landing a running clothesline, Undertaker choke slammed Kane and then delivered

14168-534: The United Kingdom, and Latin America, with other territories to be added in the future. The agreement also includes international rights to WWE content outside of the United States, including SmackDown and NXT , live events, and other shoulder content. While USA Network's contract for Raw was to expire in October 2024, WWE reached a short-term extension of its agreement with NBCUniversal to keep Raw on

14352-519: The United States, the show airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network. Occasionally, Raw is aired on same-day tape delay when WWE is on an overseas tour. Raw is also shown live on TNT Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland , in a deal which began January 2020. Raw airs live in India at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesdays on Sony Ten 1. Since October 6, 2014, Raw has been airing live throughout Latin America on Fox Sports . Currently, Raw

14536-474: 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 , UK, over a logo that it claims infringes on one of its logos for Raw that

14720-443: The WWF changed the color of the ring-ropes to red and began printing Raw Is War along the ring in reference to their rivalry with WCW . The stages was updated to feature a 70-foot tall large screen video wall known as the " TitanTron ", which consisted of a projection screen with several metal stage trusses and a video projector . The set also initially featured curtains on each side with truss beams and lighting later bearing

14904-442: The WWF commissioner at the end of the year, holding onto the position for a year and a half. After what was supposed to be a one-time match four years later at SummerSlam , Michaels and the now renamed World Wrestling Entertainment realized that his injuries had healed, and he made a full-time return to wrestling, eventually retiring permanently in 2010 at WrestleMania XXVI , 12 years after this event. With Stone Cold Steve Austin as

15088-489: The WWF was legally required to change the name of the company to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). On March 10, 2005, Viacom and WWE decided not to go on with the agreement with Spike TV (formerly TNN), effectively ending Raw and other WWE programs ' 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, USA Network, with two yearly specials on NBC and

15272-524: 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 . 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 in Brooklyn and the home of the first Monday Night Raw,

15456-424: The announce table, before finally striking a crew worker with lightning, setting him on fire; Undertaker was shown on the same episode speaking to his parents' gravestones, revealing it may have to take the damnation of his soul to reunite the troubled family. In January, Stone Cold Steve Austin won the Royal Rumble match while Shawn Michaels retained his WWF Championship , all while Mike Tyson looked on from

15640-525: The apron. Mero then executed the TKO, but Luna interrupted the pin count, jumping on Mero's back resulting in Sable tagging in as Mero wandered around the ring with Vachon on his back. Sable tried pinning Goldust, but the referee was distracted and as he finally began to count, Sable leapt off Goldust so the interfering Vachon would inadvertently bodysplash Goldust. Sable then performed a powerbomb and Mero's TKO to win

15824-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight

16008-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that

16192-561: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As

16376-435: The backstage area, with both Outlaws throwing Cactus into boxes and promotional displays, but Jack replied with a chair shot to both of them and planted Billy Gunn onto a wooden pallet with a double-arm DDT . Charlie then reappeared on a forklift and elevated the wooden pallet as Jack dragged Road Dogg onto it too. Charlie then drove the forklift above a backstage dumpster and dropped both opponents inside as Cactus Jack closed

16560-441: The bout. Gennifer Flowers , who was accompanied by Jeff Jarrett and Tennessee Lee , then came to the ring as the special guest ring announcer for the upcoming Intercontinental Championship match between Ken Shamrock and Rocky Maivia . The fight began in the aisleway with a brawl that saw Shamrock get whipped into the steel steps before both men entered the ring. Maivia then delivered his People's Elbow, but could not secure

16744-412: The broader public. In the United States, wrestling is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as

16928-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who

17112-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards

17296-638: The center of the ring, making Maivia tap to win the match and the title. The surrounding members of the Nation quickly jumped into the ring, but Shamrock dispatched them all with suplexes, including the four hundred pound Mark Henry, before then reapplying the ankle lock to a bloody Maivia. Faarooq then ran down from the back and jumped onto the apron, only to look on at Maivia with a smile, before walking away. A number of referees (the ones Shamrock attacked were actually independent wrestlers, or stuntmen put in referee uniforms) and officials would appear, trying to subdue Shamrock. After being surrounded, Shamrock suplexed

17480-458: The championship belt from Michaels in the hope of baiting him into a singles match, but the partnership of D-Generation X and The New Age Outlaws continued, allowing Michaels to retrieve the belt back. This all led to a "non-sanctioned" eight-man tag match at No Way Out of Texas: In Your House , which Michaels was unable to participate in due to a back injury; Austin won the match for his team by pinning Road Dogg. With WrestleMania drawing closer, on

17664-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling

17848-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about

18032-468: The competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on the independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in

18216-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine

18400-585: The date of Taka's title win, December 7, the date of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, calling it "ironic enough". This incident went largely unnoticed, only causing a slight stir in the wrestling community. Triple H made his way to the ring with his theme being played by the DX Band. Before Owen Hart came to the ring, Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter handcuffed himself to Chyna so that she would not interfere, despite her protestations. The match began with Hart pummeling Helmsley with fists before sliding out of

18584-429: 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

18768-403: The decision and awarded the championship to Hart. On the March 2 episode of Raw Is War , Owen defended the title against Mark Henry . During the match, Chyna came to the ring and pushed Hart off the turnbuckle allowing Henry to lock on a bearhug , but before Owen could submit, Chyna delivered a blatant low blow to Henry, resulting in a disqualification in favor of Hart. The following week in

18952-406: The director's box. The following night on Raw Is War , Vince McMahon was set to reveal that Tyson would be the special guest referee for WrestleMania's main event; however, Austin appeared and gave the finger to Tyson, offering him a fight and proclaiming the wrestling ring to be his, not Tyson's. Austin and Tyson then engaged in a massive brawl that garnered headlines all around the world. At

19136-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and

19320-507: The ensuing press conference, McMahon officially announced that due to the explosive situation, Tyson's role was being changed to that of ring enforcer . On the February 2 episode of Raw Is War , in a scheduled match against Road Dogg, D-Generation X stormed the match and tied Austin in the ropes, allowing Shawn Michaels to hurl insults at Austin and rub the championship belt in his face, taunting him with it until Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie came to his aid. The following week, Austin stole

19504-472: The entire two-hour block as Raw on-air. Raw updated to a new, industrial-inspired, parallelogram -shaped TitanTron in 2002. Ring apron lettering that had once born Raw Is War slogan was replaced with an advertisement for the WWF website. Around this time, black ring-ropes were occasionally used. Like the previous set, the TNN logo was relocated to the bottom side of the TitanTron. It was subsequently replaced by

19688-403: 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. In September 2021, the ring-ropes changed color from red to white, which was also reflected on SmackDown . On November 22 of that year, an updated version of the 2019 logo was introduced, alongside new graphics. The theme song

19872-531: The extra hour on Nitro (which had been expanded to two hours in the spring 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 in March 1998, the WWF regained the lead in the Monday Night War with its new " WWF Attitude " brand. The April 13, 1998 episode of Raw Is War , which was headlined by a match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon, marked

20056-603: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to

20240-500: The face and crouching Helmsley onto the ring post, Owen managed to take advantage, reversing a Pedigree attempt into the sharpshooter. Chyna, having to pull Slaughter, pulled Triple H to the rope for the break. As Slaughter was distracted, Chyna then threw white powder into Slaughter's face, causing the referee a worried Hart to check on him. While the referee was distracted and as Owen turned around to confront Triple H, Chyna low-blowed him from outside, allowing Triple H to successfully nail

20424-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In

20608-413: 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 , 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

20792-519: The first time that Nitro had lost the head-to-head Monday night ratings battle in the 84 weeks since 1996. On January 4, 1999, Mick Foley , 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 , 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

20976-435: The floor, Michaels recovered with a kip-up and landed a high-flying elbow drop, getting in position for Sweet Chin Music . As Austin eventually stood up, he ducked the superkick, attempting a stunner on Michaels. Michaels responded by throwing Austin into the ropes before once again attempting Sweet Chin Music. However, Austin grabbed Michaels' foot, spun him around and nailed him with a Stone Cold Stunner. Mike Tyson jumped into

21160-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as

21344-460: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself

21528-409: The in-fighting of the Nation, due to leadership disputes between Faarooq and The Rock, by making the champion tap out in a ten-man tag team match. At the end of the inaugural Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood: In Your House , just as The Undertaker looked to win the match against Shawn Michaels, the lights went out and a huge masked man came to the ring and delivered a tombstone piledriver to

21712-526: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with

21896-492: The individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in a professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from

22080-480: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore

22264-496: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by

22448-505: 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, tape library, 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

22632-492: The lid to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. Before The Undertaker 's match with Kane , baseball record-holder Pete Rose came to the ring as the special ring announcer. However, after insulting the hometown team and introducing Kane, he received a tombstone piledriver , starting a tri-year tradition . The Undertaker was preceded by a league of torch-bearing druids to the tune of " O Fortuna ". As

22816-433: The lower-left hand corner of the screen. Additionally, Raw ' s theme song ("The Night") was modified. On March 23, 2015, WWE added a small LED board to the left side of the ring on Raw . This LED board was also used at WrestleMania 31 . The LED board has since been featured on a sporadic basis, appearing in some weeks and being absent in others. On the 1,000th episode of Raw , "The Night" by Kromestatik debuted as

23000-429: The main event. In the main event, Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Shawn Michaels to win the WWF Championship for the first time; Michaels performed despite a severe injury sustained during a match at the Royal Rumble and would not compete again until SummerSlam in 2002 . This was the first WrestleMania of The Attitude Era and also the first WrestleMania event since 1986 not to feature Bret Hart , who jumped to

23184-402: The market with heavy interest among linear networks and digital properties. On January 23, 2024, TKO Group announced that Netflix would acquire the rights to Raw beginning in January 2025, in what was reported to be a 10-year deal worth $ 500 million per-year (roughly double the value of WWE's current agreement with NBCUniversal). The agreement will initially cover the United States, Canada,

23368-488: The match all but won following a Doomsday Device , the non-legal Hawk did not leave the ring as Animal was making the cover; while the referee was busy removing Hawk, Animal was struck by the title belts, causing them to lose the match. Following the match, the two men brawled all the way to the back and announced their dissolution, not appearing again until WrestleMania. After the Montreal Screwjob , Owen Hart

23552-454: The match began, The Undertaker cornered Kane and threw a flurry of punches into him, ducking and reversing Kane's attempts until Kane hit him with a clothesline that he instantly sat up from. Kane then set Undertaker up in a tree of woe to begin his assault of punches and Irish whips, before suplexing Undertaker onto the ropes and delivering a flying club to the neck from the turnbuckle. As The Undertaker began to fight back, Kane threw him into

23736-408: The match held up on account of the wrong dumpster being used. The vacant titles were then decided in a steel cage match between the two teams the following night, which the Outlaws won after interference from the newly formed DX Army, concreting their ties, and by handcuffing Charlie to the cage by his neck. Charlie returned to his Terry Funk persona, whilst Cactus Jack became Dude Love again. Meanwhile,

23920-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in

24104-446: The momentum to take advantage inside the ring, delivering a snapmare and then a low kick to the grounded Austin, while also taking time to taunt the audience . Austin briefly picked up some speed throwing Michaels out of the ring, but just as quickly lost ground as Michaels repeatedly worked on Austin's left knee, throwing it into the ring post before kicking and dropping onto it back inside the ring. When Austin tried to recover outside of

24288-591: The network through the end of the year. From October 7 through December 30, Raw will be shortened from three to two hours; wrestling reporter Dave Meltzer stated that this was a request made by USA Network. Raw ' s original set featured red, white, and blue ring-ropes, a blue ring-apron, blue steps, and a small stage made of neon light tubes. In 1995, the entrance way was changed to feature "Raw" in giant letters. Beginning on March 10, 1997, broadcasts of Raw were split into two hour-long blocks, each given its own name for television ratings purposes . The first hour

24472-613: The new WWF Champion, the " Attitude Era " was fully ushered in. The company's iconic scratch logo had started to replace the " New Generation " logo and began to appear on ring aprons and promotional material during and after this event. The next night on Raw Is War after WrestleMania, the old WWF "winged eagle" world championship belt was retired, and a new belt design with a larger eagle and blue globe debuted (eventually being retired in 2002). The Attitude Era saw Austin's feud with Vince McMahon escalate and two weeks later, Raw Is War defeated World Championship Wrestling 's Monday Nitro in

24656-496: The newest episodes of Raw and SmackDown on YouTube 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. From 1995 to 2006, Raw was shown on The Sports Network (TSN) until it moved to rival sports broadcaster The Score (now renamed Sportsnet 360 ) after it

24840-416: The on-screen copyright notice shown near the end of each hour). In 2010, WWE retired the red ropes for Raw after thirteen years for an all white scheme, which in 2012 became standard for all WWE programming. In 2012, Raw updated their HD set. Beginning 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

25024-399: The original air date. Since its first episode, Raw has been broadcast live from 209 different arenas, 172 cities and towns, and eleven different nations: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Afghanistan in 2005 , Iraq in 2006 and 2007 , South Africa, Germany, Japan, Italy, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. Beginning as WWF's Monday Night Raw, the program first aired on January 11, 1993, on

25208-471: The planet", but McMahon would not be goaded into a fight, as he instead forced Austin to fight Rocky Maivia the following episode, just before WrestleMania. Chris Warren and The DX Band opened the show by performing hard rock versions of " America the Beautiful " and " The Star-Spangled Banner ". The audience did not react well to the performance, booing the band during and after their songs. This segment

25392-587: 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,

25576-717: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During

25760-439: The purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise a bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether

25944-589: The rights to the National Hockey League broadcasts , Raw also airs on its OLN channel. All archived broadcasts of Raw are available on the WWE Network . Rogers Media secured the rights to Canadian WWE programming until 2024, after which in January 2025 the rights go to Netflix . Raw airs live in the MENA region on Shahid streaming platform Tuesday mornings, and later on the same day,

26128-564: The ring to enact revenge on Sniper and Recon by eliminating them on behalf of The Jackyl . Barry Windham also illegally entered to eliminate Chainz, and so left his partner Bradshaw . The final four teams lasted a while until Skull would be eliminated by Henry Godwinn , which meant The Disciples of Apocalypse were eliminated. 8-Ball then eliminated Phineas Godwinn , which meant The Godwinns were then eliminated. Afterwards, The Godwinns attacked LOD 2000 with slop buckets before leaving. The Midnight Express tried to keep Animal out of

26312-424: The ring to make a quick three count and the new champion celebrated by tossing the enforcer an "Austin 3:16" t-shirt. When Shawn Michaels stood up, he confronted Tyson about his turn, but was met with a punch that instantly floored him, before Tyson then draped Michaels with Austin's t-shirt. The result of the main event heralded a changing of the guard in the World Wrestling Federation. Shawn Michaels, who had been

26496-443: The ring while double-teaming Hawk , but once Animal re-entered the ring, LOD 2000 simultaneously eliminated both Bob and Bart , leaving LOD 2000 the last team standing and the winners of the battle royal. The second match was a Light Heavyweight Championship match, with Taka Michinoku defending his title against Águila ; this would be the first and only time the championship was defended at WrestleMania, though its successor,

26680-403: The ring, Cactus Jack pulling out a ladder and climbing it opposite Billy Gunn, only for both men to be pushed off straight into the dumpster outside the ring, thanks to a dazed Chainsaw Charlie. Road Dogg pulled his partner out and the two then focused their efforts on Charlie, powerbombing him into the dumpster, but Cactus had managed to escape in the meantime. The fight eventually found its way to

26864-493: The ring, he was met with a baseball slide that launched him over the announce table. Austin was then thrown back into the ring by Tyson, where he soon suffered a figure-four leglock that Michaels illegally elevated using the second and third ring rope. Austin's eventual counter was stopped by a rope break. Austin then tried to reverse a standing sleeper hold by throwing Michaels back into the turnbuckle, but unwittingly trapped referee Mike Chioda who fell unconscious. With both men on

27048-524: The ring. Triple H tried to jump from the apron onto Hart, but made contact with the crowd barrier instead. After executing a powerbomb, Hart attempted to lock in the sharpshooter , but Helmsley reversed it and started some offensive maneuvers of his own, kicking Hart in the turnbuckle and delivering a suplex. Hart then suffered a cut to the bridge of his nose from a boot to the face, after which Triple H began to work on Hart's damaged ankle, dropping his knee onto it and stretching it. After avoiding another kick to

27232-583: The rival World Championship Wrestling the previous year after the Montreal Screwjob . WrestleMania is the World Wrestling Federation 's (WWF, now WWE) flagship pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985 . It has become the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of the WWF's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble , SummerSlam , and Survivor Series , which were dubbed

27416-449: The ropes, but Undertaker retaliated by jumping onto his back, which was met a face-first electric chair . Paul Bearer kept the referee distracted while Kane landed the steel steps onto Undertaker, and repeated the effort a second time while Undertaker was lying on the steps, crushing him in-between them. As the referee tried to keep Kane in check, Bearer slapped Undertaker while walking past him. Kane caught his brother running and delivered

27600-511: The ropes. Vachon tagged Goldust in, but before Sable would do the same, she struck him in the face, then let Mero take over who had his TKO reversed into a DDT . Mero would then reverse the Curtain Call, allowing him the chance to try a moonsault pin to a standing Goldust. After Vachon struck a running Mero with her knee, Mero went to punch her, but ducked out of the way as Goldust ran to her rescue, causing him to inadvertently knock her off

27784-486: The seats", consequently resulting in over 600,000 viewers switching channels to Raw Is War to see the underdog capture the WWF Championship . This was also the night that Nitro aired a WCW World Heavyweight Championship match in which Kevin Nash laid down for Hollywood Hogan after Hogan poked him in the chest . On June 28, 2000, Viacom won the landmark deal with the WWF to move all of its WWF programs stemming from

27968-399: The shocked Undertaker. The masked man was revealed to be Kane , Undertaker's (kayfabe) half-brother and, despite the animosity and the presence of Paul Bearer , Undertaker vowed never to fight his little brother. Before Undertaker's casket match with Michaels at the Royal Rumble, D-Generation X claimed Kane had joined them, but in fact, he came to the ring to assist Undertaker. The alliance

28152-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For

28336-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,

28520-494: The theme for Raw . "Energy" by Shinedown served as the secondary theme-song until August 18, 2014, when it was replaced with "Denial" by We Are Harlot . On the September 14, 2015 season premiere of Raw , the middle rope was colored gold. Throughout the month of October 2015, the program once again partnered with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month , with various stage elements being made pink. On

28704-512: The time such as Superstars and Wrestling Challenge . 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 and matches playing out as they happened. Raw originated from the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center , a small New York City theater, and aired live each week. The combination of an intimate venue and live action proved to be

28888-406: The timekeeper to deliver a ten-bell salute for The Undertaker's passing, before then telling Kane to tombstone him. After he did, more bells were heard ringing, this time signaling Undertaker's arrival. The ringing continued much longer than normal, with Bearer vehemently denying the possibility of it being Undertaker. Eventually, a sarcophagus appeared on the top of the ramp. After the sarcophagus

29072-519: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by

29256-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it

29440-413: The two initially worked well together, Goldust's valet Luna Vachon grew vocally disdainful of Sable, who was also being mocked by Mero and Goldust, causing Sable to eventually grow tired of the disrespect and fight back. As the two women brawled, their partners tried to separate them; but when Goldust grabbed Sable in order to restrain her, Mero's jealousy took over and he attacked him. The two men then had

29624-568: 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 ) of the 2022 Winter Olympics . 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

29808-405: The venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as a performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in

29992-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of

30176-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked

30360-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling

30544-423: Was a "Dumpster match", the objective being the first tag team to put their opponents into a dumpster with the lids being closed shut would be the winners. The match began with Billy Gunn facing Chainsaw Charlie and Road Dogg exchanging blows with Cactus Jack . Trying a cannonball on Road Dogg from the apron, Cactus missed and slammed himself into the dumpster instead. The Outlaws then focused on Charlie, using

30728-467: Was almost identical to the set used for SummerSlam 2012 and 2013 . After some fans responded negatively to the redesign, the set was revamped four weeks later with a more elaborate and distinctive arrangement. The new set featured the absence of a traditional TitanTron, which had been part of the Raw staging 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

30912-753: Was announced that TSN would be carrying Monday Night Football 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 in Barrie and CKMI-TV in Quebec until 2009. During its run on TSN, which aired live , Raw occasionally had been censored live for extremely violent scenes, or when female wrestlers or characters were assaulted by male wrestlers (particularly one segment that featured

31096-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in

31280-443: Was changed to "Greatness" by Vo Williams, which remained its theme song until November 20, 2023, when it was changed to "Born to Be" by def rebel, the artist behind WWE's music input for its programming, which is performed by Supreme Madness. Bumper themes included "Survival", "Eye of an Warrior" and "Legacy". In February 2022, Raw and NXT temporarily moved to Syfy in the United States due to USA Network broadcasting coverage of

31464-478: Was changed to pink due to WWE's alliance with the Susan G. Komen organization for Breast Cancer Awareness Month . This was repeated in 2013, from late September to early November, and it was repeated in 2014 from September 29. WWE is one of many organizations who provide financial contributions to the organization in addition to raising awareness among its employees and consumers. On August 18, 2014, Raw switched to

31648-406: Was edited off all subsequent home video releases, as well as the WWE Network and Peacock. The night began with the mystery entrants in the tag team battle royal being revealed as the reunited Legion of Doom , now known as LOD 2000, with Sunny as their new valet. Savio Vega was first eliminated by Chainz meaning his tag team partner, Miguel Perez , had to leave too. Kurrgan illegally entered

31832-565: Was left as the only member of the Hart family to remain with the company; and after a temporary absence, Owen returned during the closing moments of D-Generation X: In Your House to attack Shawn Michaels . Following this, he turned his attention to Hunter Hearst Helmsley (who would later be known simply as Triple H ) and the European Championship that Michaels had given to Helmsley as a Christmas present. After weeks of deterring

32016-437: Was met with a standing clothesline. Austin followed up by pulling down Michaels' tights, exposing Michaels' backside. Michaels then tried to run at Austin, but was back dropped over the top rope onto Triple H. As Triple H threw Austin into the crowd barrier, the referee ordered he and Chyna to leave ringside. As they were leaving Austin followed and fought with Triple H up to the entrance gate. Michaels caught up and hit Austin with

32200-571: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before

32384-487: Was referred to as Raw Is War , and the second became known as War Zone . These changes were reflected in television listings and, beginning with the June 9, 1997 episode, by the show's on-screen graphics. War Zone initially opened with a repeat of the Raw intro, punctuated with the War Zone logo. On November 24, 1997, the hour received its own distinct opening video, a remixed version of the typical Raw opening. In 1997,

32568-428: Was short-lived, however, as during the Royal Rumble , Kane came to the ring and turned on his brother, allowing Michaels to win the match before locking Undertaker in the casket and setting it ablaze, presuming his brother dead. On the March 2 episode of Raw Is War , Kane's scheduled opponent, Stone Cold Steve Austin , was taken out by D-Generation X before the match could begin. With nothing else to do, Bearer ordered

32752-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted

32936-466: Was struck by a bolt of lightning, The Undertaker sat up before revealing that he had been to Hell and talked with his parents, telling them that he would have to go back on his vow before finally challenging Kane to a match at WrestleMania. The week before WrestleMania, Kane came to the ring and began to display similar supernatural powers as his brother, striking the TitanTron with lightning, as well as

33120-578: Was taped in Bushkill , Pennsylvania 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 (WCW) began airing its new wrestling show, Monday Nitro , live each week on TNT , which marked the start of the Monday Night War . Raw and Nitro went head-to-head for

33304-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among

33488-401: 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 . A total of eight matches were held at the event. This pay-per-view event was notable for the involvement of boxer Mike Tyson , who acted as a ring enforcer for

33672-471: Was used from 2006 to 2012. Throughout its broadcast history, the show has aired episodes that have different themes. Some of them are yearly events such as the Slammy Awards . 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 , which celebrated

33856-521: 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 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

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