When WWE made the decision in 2012 to extend RAW to three hours, the response from fans was mostly positive. After all, how could anyone complain about an extra hour of pro wrestling each week?
Unfortunately, the company has long struggled to deliver a consistently entertaining three-hour show, and attempts have been made in recent years to help with that. For example, in 2019, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley revealed plans for the third hour to become "downright mean and nasty" and a "little bit dirty," and the look and feel of the show was changed.
That was pretty much it, though, and the idea was abandoned without explanation after a couple of weeks. Later, WWE introduced Shane McMahon's brainchild "RAW Underground," but the fight club concept was also ditched with little fanfare.
Now, WWE is trying all over again.
Ratings continue to fall during the show's third hour, but WWE CEO Nick Khan, speaking at J.P. Morgan's TMT Conference, insists, "RAW is 3 hours. We don't anticipate that changing."
He did, however, add that they're talking about ways to make the 10pm - 11pm hour more "adult." What that means remains to be seen, but it could be edgier, non-PG storylines akin to the WWF Attitude Era.
Khan also confirmed that WWE is adding a third hour to SmackDown, though we're assuming it won't happen unless this RAW experiment is a success. Many networks would kill for an extra hour of live television, so it's easy enough to understand why the company is considering this approach.
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