WWE fans ‘worried’ for top stars as tonight’s Raw marks end of an era-Alistair McGeorge-Entertainment – Metro

WWE Raw is undergoing a major change starting tonight (Picture: WWE)

Some WWE fans are concerned as tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw marks one of the biggest changes in over a decade.

Last week’s episode was the end of an era with the weekly programme – which has aired every week since its launch in 1993 – getting cut from three hours to two for at least the rest of 2024.

The company’s flagship show is moving to Netflix in January as part of a massive $5 billion deal with the streaming giant, and Raw’s current US deal was due to run out last week.

An arrangement was made to keep the programme on air for the remainder of the year, but its runtime will be cut for the first time since it expanded to three hours in 2012.

Plenty of fans have been calling for a more concise show for years, but many more are disappointed now it’s actually happened, with some worried about WWE’s sizeable roster of wrestlers.

‘So what about the talent that doesn’t get used? Hope this doesn’t lead to releases man,’ wrote @mtpluggrind on X, and fan @Cory_hays407 added: ‘2 hours? Too much talent for 2 hours.’

Tonight’s show will be the first two-hour Raw since 2012 (Picture: WWE)

Fans are hoping the superstars still get a chance to shine (Picture: WWE/Michael Owens)

‘Personally not happy. It’s going to be difficult to put everyone on TV the roster is stacked 💯,’ argued @Jason_40_, while @jessybrownsugar tweeted:Dear @TripleH Raw has to much talent to be 2 hours! Please keep it 3 hours. 🙏🏽.’

Both NXT and SmackDown – which air on Tuesdays and Fridays respectively – run for two hours, and some people think Raw going the same way is a ‘good move’, suggesting less is more.

It’s unclear what will happen when Raw moves to Netflix, and boss Triple H – real name Paul Levesque – has admitted he’s not too sure what will happen from January.

‘When I find out, I’ll let you know,’ he told reporters at a press conference following Saturday’s Bad Blood event.

Triple H is remaining hopeful even with the challenges of a shorter runtime (Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

He insisted ‘the difference between two and three is night and day’, while there is ‘a little bit of stress’ working with less time, he’s still hopeful.

‘I think sometimes less is more and that’s going to be a good thing. When we get to Netflix, we’re still working through all that. The truth is, you guys will have to watch and see, and I’m going to wait and see,’ he said.

‘No matter what the length of time is, it’s about putting out the best product we can and telling the best stories we can. At the end of the day, it’s about telling stories.;

He compared his outlook to the art of filmmaking, insisting that rather than getting ‘caught up’ in runtimes, all that matters while it’s on is ‘the movie is the movie’.

Triple H is determined to still work on ‘the best stories’ (Picture: WWE)

‘We’re just making a movie three times a week with more to come,’ he added. ‘I approach it in that manner. Let’s write the best stories and we’ll try to figure out how to jam it into whatever time slot we have available.’

When it comes to tonight show, Sami Zayn will challenge World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER for the gold, while Jey Uso defends his Intercontinental Title against Xavier Woods.

Seth Rollins is due to make an appearance, and former teammates Sheamus and Pete Dunne will meet in a Good Old Fashion Donnybrook Match.

WWE Raw airs Monday nights at 1am on TNT Sports 1.

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