Monday Night RAW No Longer Running Overtime

by
Former Writers
November 12, 2018

Monday Night RAW Is Not Allowed to Run Overtime Anymore

Starting Monday, November 12, 2018, Monday Night RAW is no longer allowed to air longer than three hours.

RAW is… Slightly Shorter

Since the Attitude Era, RAW usually goes over its scheduled air time. Additionally, this was to combat WCW and Monday Nitro. Since the Monday Night Wars have been over for nearly two decades, RAW doesn’t have any other reason to over run.

Pro Wrestling Sheet states this was a call by the USA network. Also, SmackDown Live never runs over time; It sticks to a strict two hour schedule. Now, much like its Tuesday sibling, Monday Night RAW’s broadcast will cut off at exactly 11pm eastern time.

What does this mean for the segments and matches? Well, much like the blue brand, they will have to be timed perfectly. In addition, every single segment will have to be timed and executed in the time restraints. Also, if they over run by even a single second, the show will be cut to black and continue on to the next program. That means a part of the show won’t be seen by the televised audience. This will cause backlash with some fans if something important doesn’t air. But, if the timing is perfect, then WWE will have nothing to worry about in the upcoming future.

With the popularity of SmackDown Live, this overrun rule may not effect RAW that much. As long as everything goes as planned, nothing negative should come from this slight adjustment. RAW’s ratings have been low in recent weeks. Maybe a shorter broadcast can bring those numbers back up.

This new version of RAW will be interesting to witness. Especially interesting to see how the matches and segments have to adjust to the stricter time restraints.