TV: Broadcast live every Monday at 8 p.m. EST on USA Network and the WWE Network (streaming online)
Show length: Three hours
First aired: Jan. 11, 1993
RAW commentators: Vic Joseph (play-by-play), Dio Maddin (analyst) and Jerry The King Lawler (analyst)
All-time great RAW matches: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (April 23, 2007); Mankind vs. The Rock (Jan. 4, 1999); Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H (Dec. 29, 2003); Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (June 11, 2011)
Current RAW roster standouts: Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Big Show, Brock Lesnar, Rey Mysterio
For over 25 years, WWE RAW has served as a marquee brand in sports entertainment. RAW has long been a fixture on Monday nights and was formerly the wrestling promotion’s only avenue to showcase its world-class talent before additional brands like SmackDown and NXT came on the scene. WWE RAW has hosted thousands of episodes and featured some of the most iconic wrestlers to ever strap on a pair of boots, from Hulk Hogan, the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels to The Rock, John Cena and Bill Goldberg. The current RAW roster boasts names like The Man Becky Lynch, The Viper Randy Orton and The Beast Brock Lesnar. RAW features wall-to-wall action from matches and wrestler promos to the all-out chaos that often plays out in the backstage area. It’s all captured for a live TV audience, airing on the USA Network. You can catch all the action in the ring with WWE RAW tickets at StubHub.
WWE RAW grew from humble beginnings. Replacing
WWF Prime Time Wrestling
, RAW was filmed at the Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center Studios in New York City. The first event on Jan. 11, 1993, featured wrestlers like Yokozuna, Razor Ramon, The Steiner Brothers, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. The formula of filming the shows with ring-side commentary and airing them live each week proved to be a winning one. About a year after its inception, RAW began to hit the road and appeared at venues around the country, slowly morphing into the fast-paced, high-flying show you see every week today.
As one of the marquee brands for World Wrestling Entertainment, the promotion brings its show to arenas around the country. For instance, RAW has appeared at such venues as the
STAPLES Center
in Los Angeles and
Madison Square Garden
in New York City.
The unpredictability of RAW is one of the most enticing aspects. Many nights, a championship title belt will be put on the line and matches range from traditional singles and tag team competition to ladder and steel cage matches. Aside from matches, the WWE RAW show also features interview segments with RAW superstars and in-ring promos, where wrestlers take the opportunity to address the crowd about current happenings within the promotion.
After emerging from what was dubbed the Attitude Era in the late 1990s, when RAW regularly consisted of adult-oriented content, World Wrestling Entertainment made a conscious effort to develop the more family-friendly product you see on TV every Monday night. WWE RAW is a family-friendly event with occasional adult themes and language. Many of the wrestlers make a point to give a high-five to kids sitting ringside, and the show is an event that is often shared by parents and their children alike.
With a steady stream of celebrity guest appearances, WWE RAW has proven itself as a cultural phenomenon. Over its 25-plus years of existence, WWE RAW has welcomed everyone from Snoop Dogg, Shaquille O’Neal, Mike Tyson and Mark Cuban to the 45th president of the United States of America Donald Trump. Trump appeared on the show to play out a storyline where he purchased the show and eventually sold it back. For that, President Trump was eventually inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. This is just proof that you never know who is going to come from behind that backstage curtain at RAW.