In a groundbreaking move that’s set to reshape the landscape of professional wrestling entertainment, WWE’s flagship show RAW is making the leap from traditional television to streaming. This transition marks a significant milestone in WWE’s history and Netflix’s foray into live sports programming. Let’s dive into the details of this monumental deal and what it means for wrestling fans worldwide.

The Netflix Deal

Start Date and Duration

WWE Raw is slated to debut on Netflix in January 2025. This multi-year agreement is reportedly a 10-year deal, signaling a long-term commitment from both parties.

Financial Details

The deal between WWE and Netflix is valued at approximately $5 billion over the contract’s duration. This translates to roughly $500 million per year, doubling the value of WWE’s current agreement with NBCUniversal.

Global Reach

Initially, the Netflix deal will cover the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Latin America. However, there are plans to expand to additional territories throughout the contract’s lifespan.

Content Included in the Deal

WWE Raw

As the centerpiece of the agreement, Raw will stream live on Netflix every week. This marks the first time in its 31-year history that Raw will leave linear television for a streaming platform.

Additional WWE Programming

While Raw is the headline attraction, the deal also includes international rights to other WWE content outside the United States. This encompasses:

• SmackDown
• NXT
• WWE’s premium live events (including WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble)
• WWE’s award-winning documentaries
• Original series and forthcoming projects

Airtime and Format

Show Length

There has been speculation about potential changes to Raw’s format once it moves to Netflix. While the show recently announced a temporary shift to a two-hour format on USA Network, it’s currently expected to return to its three-hour runtime on Netflix.

Streaming Flexibility

One of the advantages of moving to a streaming platform is the potential for more flexible runtime. Netflix could potentially allow the show to run slightly under or over three hours as needed, without the strict time constraints of traditional TV broadcasting.

Live Streaming

RAW will continue to be broadcast live, maintaining its status as one of the longest-running weekly episodic television shows in the world.

Impact on WWE and the Wrestling Industry

Viewership Potential

Raw consistently draws significant viewership, with WWE reporting that it attracts 17.5 million unique viewers annually on USA Network. The move to Netflix, with its vast global subscriber base, has the potential to expand this audience significantly.

Revenue Boost

Combined with its other media rights deals, WWE is poised to earn up to $800 million annually for its U.S. rights alone starting in 2025. This influx of revenue could lead to increased production values and (hopefully) talent compensation.

Advertising Opportunities

The move to Netflix opens up new advertising avenues for WWE, particularly during intervals not previously available on traditional TV. This could create additional revenue streams for both WWE and Netflix.

What This Means for Fans

Accessibility

For Netflix subscribers in the covered territories, accessing Raw will become more convenient than ever. No cable subscription or additional pay-per-view purchases will be required to watch WWE’s flagship show and other included content.

Potential for Innovation

The streaming format could allow for more interactive features or supplementary content that enhances the viewing experience.

International Availability

While the initial rollout covers specific regions, the plan to expand to more territories over time means that more international fans may gain easier access to live WWE content.

Challenges and Considerations

Adapting to Streaming

Both WWE and Netflix will need to navigate the transition from traditional TV to streaming for a live weekly show. This includes ensuring stable streaming quality for live events and managing potential technical issues.

Content Strategy

WWE will need to balance its content strategy across different platforms, as SmackDown and NXT will remain on traditional TV networks in the U.S. while moving to Netflix internationally.

Fan Adaptation

Some fans may need to adjust to the new platform, particularly those accustomed to watching Raw on cable television for decades.

In 2012, WWE transitioned to airing Raw for three hours every week. The move was a clear business decision. As streaming services started finding their footing and television viewer became less reliant on cable, there was drive to fill a lot of hours with live TV that ran year round and had a loyal following. Three hour Raws were very good for WWE’s business.

The move was controversial from fans’ perspectives, though, with some already complaining about a high volume of three-hour Raw specials, only to see the issues of bloated shows exacerbated by three-hour broadcasts every week. WWE recently announced a transition back to two hours, with early rumblings suggesting that change will hold into the move to Netflix in 2025. This transition is ultimately the best thing for the show and its viewers.

Three Hours Always Felt Too Long

Wrestling fans will readily consume a three-hour super card, as has often been the standard for the pay-per-view or Premium Live Event models. When these events only happened a few times a year, or even when they ballooned to monthly occurrences, it was nonetheless fun for fans to come together, order some pizza, and enjoy this occasional experience.

A three-hour weekly television show is a much tougher sell. Whether it’s for working adults, younger people in school, or a variety of other demographics, it can be hard for a viewer to dedicate that much time to their TV in a sitting, and to do so on that regular of a basis.

A two-hour block is much more natural fit for the average fan’s weekly schedule and viewing habits. While the occasional longer special episode can work, a transition from three, back to two hours marks a potential end to the days when watching Raw feels like a chore or a slog to endure, but rather scales things back to more moderate, consistently enjoyable viewing experience.

WWE Can Tighten Its Focus With Two-Hour Shows

It’s a matter of personal opinion which era of Monday Night Raw was the best and factors like nostalgia as well as individual preferences around in-ring action, storytelling, and character work all coming into play when people pick favorites. It is difficult to deny, however, that the hottest period in Raw’s history—when the product had the most eyes on it and was subject to the most water cooler talk, roping in casual fans–came during The Attitude Era.

There were a lot of factors that contributed to the Attitude Era’s success, but it’s no coincidence that the roughly five-year stretch that encompasses this period saw Raw air for two hours. Two hours was enough time to tell stories and include compelling matches, but also a short enough time that it hardly ever felt as though there was filler dragging the product down or testing viewers’ patience.

WWE has been on a hot streak since Triple H took over creative and there are justifiably some concerns that fewer minutes will result in fewer opportunities for a wide swathe of talents to shine. While there is some legitimacy to this concern, there’s also a real case to be made that the cream will always rise to the top. Moreover, if having just two hours of TV times makes talents step up their game to earn their minutes or leads to unexpected partnerships for talents to share TV time, there’s a lot of potential for great TV ahead.

The Netflix Platform May Afford WWE The Best Of All Worlds

One of the selling points of Raw on Netflix that has already been established is a no-commercial model, which will open up a lot of storytelling possibilities, including big matches airing without interruption and opportunities to have one match or promo flow into another in ways that are traditionally pretty challenging to pull off.

The move to Netflix also opens the possibility of more flexible timing. A two-hour standard baseline makes sense for Raw. But what if a match or a promo segment runs long? While WWE will surely have to work within reasonable parameters for the sake of the live audience and venue, it looks feasible an episode could run two hours and fifteen minutes when it needs to. By contrast, if everything were to occur within an hour and fifty minutes, that would probably be fine as well. Just as Netflix shows like Stranger Things have famously had episode run times ranging from around the forty-five-minute mark in season one to the season four finale that clocked in at two hours and nineteen minutes, Raw may well be able to organically expand and contract according to the needs of the show as opposed the constraints of a cable television broadcast.

Only time will truly tell if two hours is the better fit for WWE Raw, but this is a change that entails plenty of reasons for optimism in watchability, focus, and the potential for flexibility that a streaming platform affords.

There has been a lot of chatter about how different WWE Raw would be on Netflix but one thing that won’t be changing is the inclusion of commercials.

Many fans have been hoping that the show will ditch the ads once it moves to the streaming giant but it won’t be the case according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

In the latest edition of his newsletter, the wrestling journalist noted that one of the reasons Netflix has picked up the wrestling show is to make the incorporation of ads to their service easier:

“One of the reasons Netflix picked up Raw is because they are trying to add commercials to programming and the Raw and pro wrestling audience is used to commercials on the shows.”

• Dominik Mysterio On How Netflix Move Will Affect WWE Programming

The difference with Netflix would more be about the order of the commercials as they will be able to adjust the length of breaks and the placement of ads more freely.

Another thing that fans have been discussing is the expected runtime of the Red Branded Show after it was announced that Raw would be reverting back to 2 hours for the rest of the year on USA Network from October 7.

The belief is that the program will have a variable run time once it leaves the traditional cable network and they’ll be able to extend or reduce the time as needed.

The flexibility will allow the company to change the length of the show to not only fit in things as required but also make the finish of matches less predictable.

There has been no update on how the programming itself will change with the freedom of content offered by Netflix. A number of stars such as Roman Reigns and Dominik Mysterio have spoken in favor of keeping things family-friendly instead of opting for more mature content immediately.

• Roman Reigns Explains How WWE Content Could Change with Raw’s Move to Netflix

WWE’s September 9 episode of Monday Night RAW emanated from Calgary, Alberta, so it was only fitting that Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart made a rare appearance. Not only did the two-time WWE Hall of Famer have a segment in the ring, but the Canadian also had a special moment backstage with Triple H.

Hart’s entrance was met with a thunderous ovation from the passionate Calgary audience and he spoke of representing Canaidan Wrestling. His segment was swiftly interrupted by World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER who proclaimed that Bill Goldberg is his favorite wrestler, an individual Bret has had issues with for decades. Sami Zayn would appear shortly after, once again making his claim to a title match against the man he beat at WrestleMania 40.

Following the segment, Triple H shared a heartfelt backstage moment with Hart. The Game praised Hart for the reaction he got from the Canadian crowd while Bret shared his gratitude for being a part of the show.

Bret’s appearance on WWE Raw was a treat for wrestling fans, and the promotion will return to Canada later this year. WWE Survivor Series 2024 will take place at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC, on November 30, marking the third time the show has come to the Great White North.

Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest on Bret Hart as well as WWE’s impending return to Canada later this year for the 38th annual Survivor Series Premium Live Event.

CM Punk is set to make his WWE Raw return on September 16 in Portland, Oregon, just two weeks after being viciously attacked by Drew McIntyre. This announcement was made during this week’s WWE Raw “season premiere” from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

During the show, WWE official Adam Pearce provided an update, stating that he had spoken with Punk, who confirmed he’s far from finished. Punk’s return on Raw will serve as the lead-up to his third match against McIntyre at WWE Bad Blood 2024, where the two will face off inside Hell in a Cell.

This will be the final bout in their trilogy. The rivalry between Punk and McIntyre has been intense, with each competitor holding one victory. McIntyre claimed the first win at SummerSlam, while Punk evened the score at Payback. The Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood promises to be the decisive battle.

In addition to Punk’s return, the September 16 episode of Raw will also feature a WWE Tag Team Championship match. The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are set to challenge The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and JD McDonagh.

With Punk’s comeback and these high-stakes matches, next week’s Raw is set to be a can’t-miss event as WWE heads toward Bad Blood 2024.

WWE Raw is set to revert to a two-hour format starting Monday, October 7, 2024, bringing the show’s runtime back in line with its Attitude Era days. This change, announced during this week’s “season premiere” episode will continue through December 30, 2024, marking the final episode of Raw on cable after a 32-year run. Beginning January 6, 2024, WWE Raw will officially move to Netflix.

This marks a significant shift for WWE’s flagship program, which has aired for three hours for over a decade. The extended runtime has been a point of contention among fans, with many arguing that the show’s quality has suffered due to its length.

WWE has benefited financially from the additional ad revenue, but critics have pointed out that the longer format often led to pacing issues and filler segments. In contrast, SmackDown has maintained a tighter, two-hour format, even during its successful run on Fox.

Speaking of SmackDown, the blue brand is set to debut on USA Network this Friday after concluding its contract with Fox. WWE has loaded the card for the occasion, featuring a WWE Undisputed Championship steel cage match where Solo Sikoa will challenge Cody Rhodes for the title.

WWE Week on the USA Network is upon us. The pro wrestling-themed programming extravaganza runs from September 9 to September 15, 2024.

It all begins tonight with the WWE Raw Season Premiere from Calgary. The week ahead will include Tuesday’s WWE NXT, movies featuring WWE legends Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena, and Friday’s big return of WWE SmackDown after a 5-year run on FOX.

• September 9, 2024: Blockers with John Cena airs at 6/5c before WWE Raw.
• September 10, 2024: Bray Wyatt: Becoming immortal airs at 10/9c after WWE NXT
• September 12, 2024: Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6 with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
• September 13, 2024: WWE SmackDown premieres on USA at 8/7c

This week is especially significant, because it begins a limited run that will see Raw, SmackDown and NXT all airing on the same network. This convenience will only last until the end of the month, however.

Just as WWE SmackDown is settling back in, the other two shows are packing their proverbial bags. WWE NXT moves to The CW Network on Tuesday October 1, 2024, while WWE Raw ends its 32-year run on cable at the end of the year and moves to Netflix starting January 6, 2025.

WWE Week on the USA Network kicks off tonight, when WWE Raw broadcasts live on the USA Network at 8/7c from Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

We’re 26 days out from WWE Bad Blood and WWE is keeping the momentum going with a stacked show. You don’t get any bigger in Calgary than an appearance from the city’s finest export, WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart. In addition to a special appearance from the Hitman, the show will a Women’s tag title defense from Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair, a street fight and more.

Confirmed matches and segments:

• WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart will appear
• Women’s Tag Title Match: Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs. The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn)
• Street Fight: The Wyatt Sicks vs. American Made
• Intercontinental Championship #1 Contenders Match: Jey Uso vs. Braun Strowman vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. Pete Dunne
• Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee
• Six-Woman Tag Match: Zelina Vega, Lyra Valkyria and a Mystery Partner vs. Pure Fusion (Shayna Baszler, Sonya Deville and Zoey Stark)

Check back for more news about this week’s WWE Raw and catch up on the Top 10 moments from last week:

Former WWE Undisputed Champion Roman Reigns recently reunited with WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman for a non-WWE appearance. ‘The Tribal Chief’ joined Heyman on-stage for Bloomberg Power Players New York and discussed WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night Raw finding a new home on Netflix, starting January 6th, 2025. Roman Reigns said that Raw airing on Netflix is the biggest deal of all time.

“I think this is the biggest deal of all-time, to be honest.”

– Roman Reigns on WWE’s deal with Netflix

The former WWE Undisputed Champion feels that after leading the live television for decades, the show moving to the streaming network is a huge milestone and a great opportunity to showcase their product. He said:

“… But the thing that changes the whole landscape for us is that we’ve been on linear television for decades now, and we’ve been the leader of that episodically. So, to take our program and to put it on a streaming network like Netflix, it’s just unheard of.

To go all the way back through our history to see where we are now and the growth that we’ve had really since 2020, when the world was upside down has just really been amazing. So it’s a big opportunity for us to not only showcase our product, but just what we’ve mastered with live television.”

– Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns enjoys challenges of PG content

Reigns also shared his thoughts on WWE potentially leaning into edgier content on Netflix. The 39-year-old wasn’t in favor of WWE going beyond PG limits with its move to Netflix. He noted that while WWE made a reputation of edgier content back in the day, he enjoys the challenges that comes with PG rating. He said:

“If we allow Paul to do Hall of Fame speeches non-stop, we’ll definitely push that envelope. But for me, I don’t know. I have always enjoyed the challenges of being PG and no offense to our predecessors and the people who came before us and the ratings that they revolved around, but to me, it’s a, it’s more challenging to be able to tell these stories. It also allows you a broader audience to connect to which I just really feel like. It’s always the goal.”

– Roman Reigns

He believes that there will be a room for experimenting but reckoned that WWE should stick to its core values and morals. He added:

“We want to reach as many people as possible. And I think there’s a fine limit to when you can cross that threshold where you push people off from the product. So I think there’s a nice, there’s going to be a nice little range there that we can play with. And, push the envelope in certain senses. But I think we need to stick to our values and the morals that we’ve set in place in the culture that we have now.”

– Roman Reigns

Raw will join Netflix in January next year and the agreement between the two parties spans ten years and exceeds $5 billion. The exclusive hosting of Raw on Netflix will begin in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Latin America, with additional territories to be added eventually.

Netflix is set to become the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the U.S., including Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and Premium Live Events such as WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble. WWE’s documentaries, original series, and the forthcoming projects will also be made available on Netflix internationally starting next year.

• WWE Star Reveals 1 Important Trait Taylor Swift Shares With Roman Reigns

Much like Rocky Balboa in his first fight with Apollo Creed, Joe Tessitore went the distance in his first outing behind the WWE Raw commentator booth. The expectation is that Tessitore would have big shoes to fill when replacing Michael Cole in the lead commentary role for the longest-running pro wrestling show on television, but the longtime boxer and football commentator put his gloves on and dug his cleats in to give the program a unique and refreshing voice.

While sports announcers were brought in previously, there’s a great deal of different circumstances at Tessitore being put in the main Monday night role – the big difference is that Vince McMahon isn’t there anymore. Not only would the former chairman berate his commentary team over the headset, McMahon knew basically zero about sports not contained in the squared circle. A Mike Adamle, a Jimmy Smith or Adnan Virk was just window dressing for the “shiny new toy” whims of Vince who would greatly handcuff anyone with his micro-managerial tendencies. It was baptism by fire, but with too much fire and no baptism.

Second and in conjunction with Vince McMahon being gone is that TKO is the ever-watching eye for WWE with Nick Khan now steering the ship as CEO. Unlike Vince, Khan has plenty of sports acumen, an asset that has clearly paid off dividends for WWE in major ways in production, relationships and merchandise sales. It’s unknown if the Tessitore hiring was the brain-child of Khan, but WWE ultimately being operated by people with sports knowledge is beneficial to a Tessitore who’s looking to tussle.

Finally, and just as important as the previous, Joe is a bonafide fan. After his first night on RAW commentary Joe noted his affinity for the likes of a Big John Studd or a “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff. Having a foundation that Tessitore holds steady ground on gives the veteran broadcaster plenty of ammo in his WWE Universal utility belt.

Tessitore’s appreciation for wrestling along with his understanding of how an actual athletic competition should be called enhanced the WWE product and gave it melded feel of Dick Enberg and Gordon Solie along with a sprinkle of Jim Ross.

Throughout the three hours, Joe weaved in a steadily calmness and precision in his commentary much like a star quarterback dissecting a defense behind center, but amped it up in the appropriate moments. If a heel did something egregious (see Drew McIntyre) Tessitore made the viewer feel that transgression. Bracelet beads being shoved down CM Punk’s throat? “Truly disgusting!” Drew beating Punk while he’s on a spinal board? “Abhorrent!” A Sami Zayn confronting GUNTHER and his World Heavyweight gold? Let’s lay out and let the moment speak for itself. The RAW season premiere may be next week, but Tessitore already turned the page in making it truly feel like a new season.

It’s also a necessity that commentary takes two to tango and Tessitore had a great dance partner in Wade Barrett. Barrett supported Joe in all the right ways, adding his signature cadence of colorful commentary, being a sounding board for Tess to bounce off of and just the simple fact that he’s a veteran of the ring boosted the two to being an already perfect pairing.

This Monday’s RAW may have been Tessitore’s first day on the job, but it feels like he’s already due a raise.

The excitement didn’t end after this week’s episode of WWE RAW went off the air from the Bell Arena in Denver, Colorado. In the main event of the show, Jey Uso and Damian Priest defeated WWE World Tag Team Champions Finn Balor & JD McDonagh in non-title action. While Liv Morgan tried to aid her Judgment Day allies, Rhea Ripley, who’d been attacked earlier in the night, neutralized the Women’s World Champion.

After RAW, Jey, Ripley, and Priest celebrated in the ring. Despite her ankle injury, Rhea joined in with a ‘Yeet’ and after some convincing, Priest joined her and Jey for a three-person ‘Yeet.’

What Happened On RAW?

This week’s RAW dealt with the fallout from last Saturday’s Bash in Berlin, the first WWE PLE to ever take place in Germany. On RAW, CM Punk set his sights on the World Heavyweight Championship, only to be ambushed by Drew McIntyre and have his bracelet destroyed. Sami Zayn also confronted World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER who declined the challenge of the man who beat him at WrestleMania 40.

Kairi Sane suffered a nasty eye injury during RAW but still finished her tag-team match for a shot at the Women’s Tag Team Championships. That bout saw the Unholy Union defeat Damage CTRL to earn a rematch with new champions Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair. The show also marked the commentary debut of WWE’s newest announcer Joe Tessitore.

The September 2, episode of WWE RAW marked the commentary debut of Joe Tessitore, whose arrival was confirmed earlier this year. Tessitore has been thrown in at the deep end as the lead announcer on WWE’s flagship show, but how does he think he did?

In a WWE RAW Digital Exclusive, Tessitore said that he felt the passion and intensity of the WWE Universe in Denver, Colorado at his first ever RAW as a commentator.

“I was very into them, it was a great reception. It meant a lot to me. I brought out the little kid in me tonight.”

Assessing his performance on Raw, Tessitore said that he feels he wasn’t at his best, but is optimistic for his future on the red brand.

“I wasn’t great tonight, I wasn’t great tonight, but I was a passionate fan tonight.”

Tessitore also spoke about the show bringing out “the little kid in me” and recalled buying a bunch of merchandise from the show. Tessitore is pleased that “Night One [is] in the books” and is excited to have many more.

Joe Tessitore

Tessitore may be a fresh face to the WWE Universe but he’s no stranger to high-profile sports broadcasting. Tessistore also works with ABC and ESPN and leads the latter’s world championship fight broadcasts as the blow-by-blow broadcaster for Top Rank Boxing. 

Tessitore has also provided play-by-play for Monday Night Football, preparing him nicely for calling the intense action of WWE. While Tessitore will be kept plenty busy as a WWE RAW commentator, his role with the promotion will allow him to remain working with ESPN and ABC.

This week’s WWE RAW from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado featured the ongoing tournament to determine Bron Breakker’s next challenger and the fallout from Bash in Berlin. We also saw the debut of Joe Tessitore, the veteran sports broadcaster who is the show’s new announcer alongside Wade Barrett.

Michael Cole, who had previously been on RAW, has been moved to WWE SmackDown where he’ll call the action alongside Corey Graves starting next Friday when the show returns to the USA Network.

Joe Tessitore Joins WWE

Tessitore’s signing was confirmed back in July and while he’ll soon be debuting in WWE, he’s no stranger to broadcasting. Tessistore also works with ABC and ESPN, and leads the latter’s world championship fight broadcasts as the blow-by-blow broadcaster for Top Rank Boxing. Tessitore has also provided play-by-play for Monday Night Football, preparing him nicely for calling the intense action of WWE. Joe’s deal with WWE will allow him to remain employed with ABC & ESPN.

Tessitore’s passionate announcing was documented in a 2012 feature from Sports Illustrated. In the feature, College Football Live producer Nick Sciallo described Tessitore’s calls as the work of “a hyper, hyper-intense guy who’s passionate about what he does.” Gifted with an encyclopedia-like mind that’ll come in handy every Monday night, Tessitore can recite Heisman winners as if he’s rattling off the alphabet, the feature adds.

Tessitore has been praised for his ability to deliver unique calls, for better and for worse. In 2016, Tessitore declared “Texas is back, folks!” at the end of a Longhorns overtime victory over Notre Dame. The line became something of a meme among football fans as the Longhorns experienced its fair share of struggles after the call.

Raw’s Revolving Door

Joe Tessitore will certainly hope to do better than those who’ve joined WWE’s commentary teams only to fall flat. In May 2021, Adnan Virk was cut by WWE mere weeks after his signing was announced. Many at the time felt that Virk failed to demonstrate the skills needed for a lead WWE announcer and lacked chemistry with Corey Graves and Byron Saxton.

Jimmy Smith replaced Adnan Virk in 2021 though he too was not long for WWE and would leave in October 2022. In 2008, WWE did all they could to make Mike Adamle succeed on TV, including giving him roles as an interviewer, as RAW General Manager, and as a commentator. He was gone by July of that year.

Tonight’s WWE Raw broadcasts live on the USA Network at 8pm ET from the Ball Arena City in Denver, Colorado.

Raw will deal with the fallout of last weekend’s Bash in Berlin PLE, the ongoing tournament to determine Bron Breakker’s next challenger and much more.

Here are the confirmed matches and segments for the show, as WWE begins its build to its next premium live event, Bad Blood:

• IC Tournament: Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed vs. Ludwig Kaiser
• IC Tournament: Ilja Dragunov vs. Dragon Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio
• Zelina Vega vs. Shayna Baszler
• American Made (Julius Creed, Brutus Creed, and Ivy Nile) vs. Alpha Academy (Otis, Akira Tozawa, and Maxxine Dupri)
• Women’s Tag Titles Contenders: Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn) vs. Damage CTRL (IYO SKY and Kairi Sane)
• New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair will celebrate their title win at Bash in Berlin

Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest WWE News and coverage of WWE Raw.

What Happened Last Week

Catch up on the Top 10 moments from last week’s show:

On the latest episode of WWE RAW, fans witnessed an intense and unexpected brawl between Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman that spilled out of the ring and into the parking lot.

Read More – WWE RAW Schedule: Dates, Venues and more

Backstage Reactions to the Brawl

Enthusiasm Among WWE Staff

According to a new report from Fightful Select, there was considerable excitement and positive buzz backstage regarding how the brawl between Reed and Strowman played out.

WWE officials and creative team members were particularly pleased with the segment’s intensity and the risks taken by both performers.

Potential Implications for Future Storylines

The enthusiastic backstage response suggests that WWE may capitalize on the success of the segment by further developing the rivalry between Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman, or it could just be another step in the push for Reed up the card after he demolished Seth Rollins in recent weeks.

Since its live debut in January 1993, WWE Raw has been broadcast from nearly a dozen countries, including Canada, England, Italy, Mexico, Germany, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

WWE’s return to Saudi Arabia in November for Crown Jewel 2024 which will feature the first-ever WWE Raw taping in the country. WWE Crown Jewel will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, November 2, 2024. WWE will tape a special episode of Raw on Sunday, the day after Crown Jewel, which will air in its usual time slot.

Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced the historic event as part of #RiyadhSeason 2024:

WWE’s website does not have a Monday Night RAW listed for November 4, which will be the first Monday of the month and the first after Crown Jewel 2024. The previous week’s RAW will take place in Hershey, PA, and the following week will see the roster travel to Grand Rapids, MI.

Wrestling fans in Saudi Arabia can watch WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown and other WWE programming through the MBC Shahid streaming platform.

WWE has hosted eleven Premium Live Events since launching its lucrative relationship with Saudi Arabia with 2018’s Greatest Royal Rumble. Earlier this year, WWE hosted its first TV taping, the go-home SmackDown before King and Queen of the Ring, in Jeddah.

Reports of Monday Night RAW coming to Saudi Arabia come after the nation’s representatives expressed interest in furthering their ongoing deal. In May, Turki Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority Chairman spoke of enhancing the current deal and hopes to bring WWE’s biggest events to the Kingdom. Alalshikh mentioned bringing the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania to Saudi Arabia, as well as UFC pay-per-views.

WWE has announced significant shakeups to the commentary teams of its two flagship shows, WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown. The changes take effect over the next couple weeks, starting with next week’s Raw and completing the following Friday, when SmackDown returns to the USA Network after a 5-year run on FOX.

Michael Cole Shifts to SmackDown

Corey Graves filled in for Pat McAfee at the commentary booth for this week’s WWE Raw. McAfee is on hiatus and is returning to his other gig hosting ESPN College GameDay. Graves and Cole will reunite on September 13 for WWE SmackDown’s big homecoming on the USA Network. The duo has worked extensively together over the years and is regarded as one of WWE’s strongest teams.

Enter Joe Tessitore

With today’s “Voice of WWE” changing brands, WWE has tapped veteran broadcaster Joe Tessitore to serve as the new lead announcer for Raw starting next Monday, September 2, 2024. Tessitore has decades of experience in broadcasting, including working with ESPN doing play-by-play for Monday Night Football and coincidentally College Game Day.

Wade Barrett joins Tessitore on Monday nights. Former Nexus leader has proven himself to be an asset in recent years; calling action on Raw, SmackDown and NXT.

The buzz surrounding Uncle Howdy didn’t stop or waver once this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW went off the air. In the show’s main event, Howdy defeated Chad Gable in the dark character’s in-ring debut. This match comes close to two years after Howdy was first introduced on WWE TV as part of Bray Wyatt’s 2022 return to the promotion. This was Bo Dallas’ first match in WWE since November 13, 2019, when he was part of a tag-team match that ironically also included Gable.

After his victory over Gable and once the cameras stopped rolling, Howdy remained in the ring and struck poses associated with his late brother. The crowd played their part, as they shone the ‘fireflies’ associated with Wyatt. As Howdy made his way to the entrance, he raised one hand, clearly in memory of the former WWE World Champion.

WWE Monday Night RAW – August 26

This week’s WWE RAW took place from Providence, Rhode Island and served as the go-home RAW before WWE Bash In Berlin this Saturday. The results of the show are as follows:

• The Judgment Day defeated the LWO in an eight-man tag-team match
• Damage CTRL defeated Pure Fusion Collective
• Jey Uso defeated Kofi Kingston and Karrion Kross in a triple-threat Intercontinental Title qualifier tournament match
• Bronson Reed Vs. Braun Strowman went to a no contest. Reed slammed Strowman with a Tsunami onto a car roof.
• Pete Dunne defeated The Miz and Xavier Woods in a triple-threat Intercontinental Title qualifier tournament match
• Uncle Howdy defeated Chad Gable

Tonight’s WWE Raw broadcasts live on the USA Network at 8pm ET from the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.

Raw will feature the first matches of the tournament to determine Bron Breakker’s next challenger, the in-ring debut of Uncle Howdy and much more.

Here are the confirmed matches and segments for the show, the final Raw before Saturday’s WWE Bash in Berlin premium live event:

• Uncle Howdy vs. Chad Gable
• ‘Big’ Bronson Reed vs. Braun Strowman
• IC Tournament: The Miz vs. Xavier Woods vs. Pete Dunne
• IC Tournament: Kofi Kingston vs. Karrion Kross vs. Jey Uso
• Randy Orton will appear ahead of his match against Gunther for the World Heavyweight championship this Saturday at Bash in Berlin.
• We’ll get an update on Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest after getting attacked by the Judgment Day last week.

Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest WWE News and coverage of WWE Raw.

What Happened Last Week

Catch up on the Top 10 moments from last week’s show:

WWE legend Kevin Nash has recently shared his thoughts on the current state of Monday Night RAW, and he didn’t hold back on what he considers to be the best part of the show.

According to Nash, Rhea Ripley, who he referred to as a “f*cking Panther,” is the standout performer on WWE RAW.

Kevin Nash Praises Rhea Ripley

On a recent episode of his podcast, Kliq This, Kevin Nash delved into what makes Rhea Ripley so special on WWE’s flagship show.

Nash, a two-time WWE Hall of Famer, expressed his admiration for Ripley, stating, “She came out last night and when she went to the ring, her movement in front of the hard camera was like, I don’t know, a f*****g panther. Everything that makes her what she is, which is, to me, the best thing on the show, most shows, by far, my favorite character, is her.”

The Rise of Rhea Ripley on RAW

Rhea Ripley has consistently been a dominant force on WWE RAW since her promotion to the main roster. She has held the RAW, SmackDown, and WWE Women’s World Titles, solidifying her position as one of WWE’s top stars.

Her current storyline involving Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan has kept fans on the edge of their seats, especially after Mysterio betrayed Ripley at WWE SummerSlam 2024.

Upcoming Showdown at WWE Bash In Berlin

Looking ahead, Rhea Ripley is set to team up with Damian Priest, as the “Terror Twins,” to face off against Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio at WWE Bash In Berlin on August 31.

This match is highly anticipated, as fans are eager to see how the drama between Ripley and Mysterio unfolds further.

Randy Orton delivered an RKO to the World Heavyweight Champion Gunther after this week’s episode of Raw from Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida went off air.

The Viper faced Ludwig Kaiser in the main event of the Red Branded Show. The Ring General was not present at the ringside but he later made his way through the crowd to distract Orton. This allowed Kaiser to gain the upper hand momentarily.

Randy, however, showed why he is a 14-time world champion. In the end he dropped Ludwig Kaiser on the announce table multiple times and won the match after hitting an RKO for the pin.

Gunther entered the ring after the bout to try and take out Orton but the Legend Killer didn’t let him dominate for too long. The feed cut off right as Randy poked the World Champion in the eye.

A fan made video from the arena shows that Randy Orton successfully delivered an RKO to Gunther after the show went off air. WWE has also posted a video of Orton posing with the world title dropped by Gunther at the end of the segment, before returning the belt to its owner:

• Uncle Howdy To Make In-Ring Debut On 8/26 WWE RAW

WWE Bash In Berlin

Randy Orton will get a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at the Bash In Berlin special from Uber Arena on Saturday, August 31.

Though this won’t be the only interesting match for the show. Last week’s episode of Raw saw CM Punk brutally assaulting Drew McIntyre when he tried to confront Gunther.

McIntyre and Punk had a confrontation on this week’s episode of the show after the segment. The Straight Edge Star challenged the Scottish Psychopath to a stipulation match and the latter accepted. You can check out the details of the bout here.

Uncle Howdy, the macabre side of Bo Dallas, will make his in-ring debut during next week’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW. Howdy will face American Made’s Chad Gable on the show in what’ll be the latest chapter of their feud. Gable was attacked by the Wyatt Sicks upon the faction’s debut in June with some fans claiming the Olympian had been ‘killed’ due to the bloody wound on his head.

This will mark the first WWE match for Howdy, and Bo Dallas’ first WWE match since a WWE live event in November 2019. In the faction’s in-ring debut, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, and Erick Rowan, defeated Gable and the Creed Brothers earlier this month.,

Next Week’s WWE RAW

The in-ring debut of Uncle Howdy will be just one highlight of the go home edition of WWE RAW before Bash in Berlin on August 31. On the show, Bronson Reed’s path of destruction will see him collide with Braun Strowman. A tournament to decide the next challenger for Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker will also get underway. Breakker won the gold from Sami Zayn at WWE SummerSlam, marking his first title on the main roster.

After months of cryptic messages, fans are eager to see how Uncle Howdy fares in the ring Stay tuned to SE Scoops for all the latest in the build towards next week’s crucial match.

Pat McAfee will be stepping away from the WWE RAW commentary table after tonight to rejoin the ESPN College GameDay for the upcoming season that’ll start this week. McAfee shared on social media that the August 19, RAW will be his last “for a bit.”

“Tonight will be my last trip to that wonderful WWE family for a while, I’m bummed out. Football season is starting which is awesome but the WWE family is where I’m supposed to be, I know that and I hope they do too.”

McAfee’s departure will come as a blow to his fans as his enthusiasm at WWE events has proven to be infectious. With that said, McAfee did drum up controversy with comments about WWE NXT after Pat and his show’s co-hosts were DLC in WWE 2K24.

WWE Monday Night RAW – August 19

While this will be Pat’s final episode of WWE RAW for some time, he will be getting an epic show to say goodbye on. CM Punk has vowed to deliver a message to Drew McIntyre in what’ll be the latest chapter in their deeply personal rivalry. SmackDown’s Randy Orton will be a part of tonight’s show ahead of WWE Bash in Berlin showdown with World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER.

The WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships will be on the line tonight as the Unholy Union will face Damage CTRL and The Pure Fusion Collective. The Final Testament will take on The New Day & Odyssey Jones while Pete Dunne and Sheamus hope to settle the score in what will be a certified ‘banger.’ Speaking of former friends turned rivals, Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri will face off on tonight’s RAW.

Stay tuned to SE Scoops for results, news, and more from tonight’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW in Sunrise, Florida.

Tonight’s August 19, 2024 episode of WWE Raw airs live on the USA Network at 8 PM ET from the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL.

Just two weeks until WWE Bash in Berlin on Saturday, August 31, here are the matches and items advertised for tonight:

• CM Punk will deliver a message to Drew Intyre
• Women’s Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match: The Unholy Union (c) vs. Damage CTRL vs. The Pure Fusion Collective
• Randy Orton will appear
• Pete Dunne vs. Sheamus
• The Final Testament vs. The New Day & Odyssey Jones
• Maxxine Dupri vs. Ivy Nile

Stay tuned to SEScoops for more WWE News and coverage of tonight’s Raw.

What Happened Last Week?

Catch up on the Top 10 Raw Moments from last week, including the main event featuring Sami Zayn trying to regain the Intercontinental championship from Bron Breakker:

Dominik Mysterio is excited to see what boundaries they can push with the move to Netflix.

WWE Raw is set to leave traditional cable TV and move to Netflix in a monumental deal at the start of next year. There is a lot of chatter about how this will change the landscape of professional wrestling.

The Judgment Day star was the most recent guest on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast. He discussed things such as his storyline with Rhea Ripley, working with Eddie Guerrero and more.

When the topic of the Netflix deal came up, Paul explained how wrestlers will be able to take advantage of the global reach to expand their personal brand. Dirty Dom mentioned that he hasn’t thought about the move in that manner and his focus is on putting out the best performance he can:

“To me I just want to wrestle. I just want to go out there and put on the best performances as possible. But on the business side of it, which I feel like a lot of, it’s newer for us wrestlers to like kind of do it that way.

Cause like I said, I feel like we just kind of want to go out there and wrestle and perform and give the best to the fans. So this is, bringing it to Netflix, it’s gonna, a whole new set of eyes, different crowd, you can get new people involved. It’s going to be…I want to see what boundaries we can push with it for sure.”

• TKO COO Mark Shapiro Reveals Results Of Covert WWE-Netflix Test

Out of Nowhere

WWE has slowly moved towards more edgier programming in the past couple of years. Angles such as Dominik’s storyline with Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan have been testing out the limits of what’s allowed on cable TV.

When asked how he thinks the programming will adapt to streaming which will have even fewer restrictions, Mysterio mentioned that fans would expect them to go all out with explicit content. The former champion, however, explained that you have to restrict the amount of mature content in order to make it meaningful:

“I think people are going to expect us to go in there and just…first episode of Raw on Netflix I think people are gonna expect you know freaking blood and tables everywhere, titties. Like Edge and Lita where they had the live sex show.

I’m sure people are going to expect things like that but I feel like in order for stuff like that to be special and meaningful you can’t have it all the time. It’s gotta come like an RKO out of nowhere. It’s like you don’t expect it and then it’s like, boom – titty!”

Dominik Mysterio is currently scheduled to team with Liv Morgan to take on Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest in a mixed tag match at the Bash In Berlin PPV on August 31.