Category: RAW

WWE Raw Returning To Two-Hour Format For Last Three Months Of 2024 Before Netflix Move

For over a decade, “WWE Raw” has been a three-hour affair. As the red brand’s time with USA Network draws to a close, however, it has been announced that WWE’s flagship show will be temporarily reverting to a two-hour weekly schedule. WWE took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to make the announcement during the season premiere of “Raw” on Monday night. The reason for the format change was not disclosed.

The change is expected to begin on the October 7 episode of “Raw,” immediately after WWE’s upcoming Bad Blood premium live event, and last through the December 30 episode of “Raw,” which will be the show’s final episode on USA Network before it moves to Netflix in January. During this period, the show will air from 8pm to 10pm EST; as pointed out by Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, this means the Monday night 10pm EST television block will be free of wrestling programming for the first time in decades, as the previous two-hour format started at 9pm EST for much of its run.

Whether Netflix will maintain the two-hour run time, return the show to three hours, or implement some other plan is currently unknown. Despite USA Network’s recent acquisition of “WWE SmackDown,” there are no known plans to change the blue brand’s run time or that of “WWE NXT,” which is preparing its own move to The CW Network.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 9/9/2024

The season premiere of WWE RAW tonight live on USA Network from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

  • WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart to appear
  • We will hear from Drew McIntyre
  • Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio vs. LWO’s Dragon Lee
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill (c) vs. The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn)
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship No. 1 Contenders Match: Jey Uso vs. Braun Strowman vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. Pete Dunne
  • Street Fight: Wyatt Sicks (Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy, Erick Rowan and Nikki Cross) vs. American Made (Julius Creed, Brutus Creed, Chad Gable and Ivy Nile)
  • Lyra Valkyria, Zelina Vega, and TBA vs. Pure Fusion Collective (Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark and Sonya Deville)

Backstage Report Details Odyssey Jones’ Removal From WWE TV

Odyssey Jones (real name Omari Palmer) has been absent from the last several tapings of “WWE Raw,” with a flurry of discussion emerging around his status in the last few days. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful has posted an update on social media regarding the situation, alleging that Jones was taken off TV after the company learned about domestic violence claims against the wrestler.

There don’t appear to be any charges filed against Palmer right now, and Sapp noted that talent had not been informed about the situation. Wrestling Inc. has reached out to WWE for comment.

Palmer had begun making regular appearances on “WWE Raw” last month, joining forces with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of the New Day. The trio defeated The Final Testament on the August 19 episode of “Raw,” which marks Palmer’s last in-ring appearance with the company as of now.

WWE signed Palmer in 2019, with his first televised match taking place two years later, on an episode of “205 Live.” He then spent the next several years in WWE’s NXT developmental system before getting called up in the WWE Draft earlier this year and eventually winning his debut “Raw” match last month.

Earlier yesterday, Fightful Select posted a brief report on Palmer’s status before Sapp’s more recent update. The wrestler was reportedly removed from the company’s creative plans for the foreseeable future, despite being in the midst of a storyline with prominent performers, including a former WWE Champion in Kingston.

Additionally, a report from PWInsider Elite backs up the claim that there are no longer creative plans for Palmer. However, he is still currently listed on the company’s internal roster, leaving some wiggle room as to his current status.

Bryan Alvarez reported on Wrestling Observer Live that Palmer had, indeed, been released by WWE, though it’s yet to be confirmed. “There has not been a press release or anything like that. But I’ve been told Odyssey Jones is fired. There are rumors online, also from Fightful, that it was a domestic violence allegation. Apparently no arrests at this point but I was told fired.”

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Raw Preview 9/2/2024

WWE Raw airs live tonight on the USA Network from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.

  • Fallout from Bash In Berlin
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship No. 1 Contenders Tournament Match: Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed vs. Ludwig Kaiser
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship No. 1 Contenders Tournament Match: Ilja Dragunov vs. Dragon Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles No. 1 Contenders Match: Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn) vs. Damage CTRL (IYO SKY and Kairi Sane)
  • Zelina Vega vs. Shayna Baszler
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Celebration with new champs Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair
  • American Made (Julius Creed, Brutus Creed and Ivy Nile) vs. Alpha Academy (Otis, Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri)

WWE Raw Preview 8/26/2024

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.

  • “Big” Bronson Reed vs. Braun Strowman
  • Chad Gable vs. Uncle Howdy
  • Randy Orton to appear
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship No. 1 Contenders Tournament begins
  • Update on the condition of The Terror Twins (Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest) after they were attacked by the new Judgment Day on last week’s show.

WWE Raw Preview 8/19/2024

WWE Raw airs live tonight on USA Network from the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.

CM Punk will have a “can’t miss message” for Drew McIntyre

  • WWE Women’s Triple Threat Tag Team Championship Match: Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn (c) vs. Damage CTRL (Kairi Sane and IYO SKY) vs. Pure Fusion Collective (Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark)
  • New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) and Odyssey Jones vs. Karrion Kross and AOP (Rezar and Akam)
  • Sheamus vs. Pete Dunne
  • Randy Orton to appear
  • Maxxine Dupri vs. Ivy Nile

Dakota Kai Out 8-10 Weeks With A Torn Meniscus

Dakota Kai is unfortunately no stranger to knee surgery in her career, and it appears she’s headed for another one, as per “WWE Raw” commentary. Kai, who was attacked last week by Shayna Baszler, Sonya Deville, and Zoey Stark — a group now known as The Pure Fusion Collective — needs surgery for a torn meniscus in her right knee and is expected to be out of action for 8-10 weeks.

It’s unclear when the injury actually took place, but Kai hasn’t wrestled a match since July 27 at the WWE SuperShow live event in Tokyo, Japan, where she and IYO SKY defeated former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill. She was slated to take on Deville on last week’s “Raw,” having laid down the challenge the week prior, but was seemingly written out of that match by the backstage attack and replaced by her Damage CTRL ally SKY, who emerged victorious. On Monday’s episode, Kai was nowhere to be found while SKY and Io Shirai competed against Baszler and Stark in a No. 1 Contenders’ match for The Unholy Union’s women’s tag titles, a match that ended in a no contest when the champions attacked both sides.

Kai suffered a torn ACL in the same knee last year and only returned to action in February. Damage CTRL has been plagued by knee problems in 2024, with Asuka still recovering from her own injury with no timeline for her return having been announced.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

(Report) Possible Name Change For The Judgment Day

A big change is reportedly in store for The Judgment Day faction in WWE.

And it could begin tonight on WWE Raw in Austin, Texas.

Ahead of tonight’s three-hour WWE Raw on USA Network, sources are reporting that “plans are in motion to rebrand the ‘new’ Judgment Day.”

The report from Wrestle Votes claims that the group’s “essence will stay the same, but a name change is likely.”

Additionally, the report states that the leading candidate for a new name for the group is the “Street Trash” insult that GUNTHER used for Damian Priest heading into their WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WWE SummerSlam 2024.

WWE To Shake Up Commentary Teams For RAW & SmackDown

WWE is shaking up its commentary teams following the arrival of Joe Tessitore.

Tessitore will debut on RAW in Denver, Colorado, on September 2. This move aligns with Cole’s transition to SmackDown, prompted by Pat McAfee’s return to College GameDay.

This rearrangement will result in Cole partnering with Wade Barrett on SmackDown, while Tessitore will collaborate with Corey Graves on RAW.

WWE RAW is scheduled to move from the USA Network to Netflix in January 2025. The ten-year agreement is valued at over $5 billion, translating to at least $500 million annually.

WWE’s current contract with the USA Network expires in September 2024, and RAW will continue to air on the network as a transitional phase before moving to Netflix.

Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline is reporting that the changes to the WWE commentary teams are temporary. Tessitore will join SmackDown in January, and Cole will return to RAW upon its move to Netflix.

Moreover, Tessitore will continue working at ESPN, where he serves as a broadcaster for college football and Top Rank boxing.

Source: eWn

Odyssey Jones Finally Debuts On WWE Raw After Being Drafted Twice, Joins The New Day

After being drafted to “WWE Raw” back in 2023 after a run in “WWE NXT” — and then again earlier this year, having never officially debuted for the red brand — Odyssey Jones finally debuted Monday night to help The New Day in their ongoing feud against The Final Testament.

Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were taking on The Authors of Pain, with Karrion Kross, Paul Ellering and Scarlett at ringside. During the match, Kross hit a cheap shot to Woods while the New Day member was on the top turnbuckle, causing him to fall to the mat, where Rezar looked to do more damage. That’s when Jones came down the ramp — wearing a New Day t-shirt — and sent Kross into the ring apron, then over the barricade into the crowd. The distraction allowed Woods to roll up Rezar for the victory. An enraged Akam and Rezar started to beat down New Day before Jones got into the ring and took both members of Authors of Pain out, delivering a double sidewalk slam. Kross then got into the ring to try and take on Jones, but he also received a slam for his troubles.

The 30 year old, 405-pound, star appeared backstage with New Day, and Kingston explained they “linked up” at the Performance Center and Jones wanted to come help them with their Final Testament problem. Jones, Kingston, and Woods were greeted by the Alpha Academy, who started to dance with delight. Though not featured on WWE television, Jones was last defeated by Omos at a Road to WrestleMania house show at the end of March, according to CageMatch.

Source: Wrestling Inc.