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→‎The Monday Night Wars and Raw is War: changed "all of whom were hilariously dejected by The Rock." to "rejected by The Rock."
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Tragedy befell the World Wrestling Federation at the ''[[Over the Edge 1999|Over the Edge]]'' pay-per-view on May 23, 1999 when [[Owen Hart]] [[Over the Edge (1999)#Owen Hart accident|tragically perished in an in-ring stunt gone wrong]]. The following night on ''Raw'', the entire episode was dedicated to the memory of Hart with various WWF personalities delivering out-of-character comments on the accident. While the episode was the highest rated edition of ''Raw'' up to that point,<ref name="2xZone"/> the episode was regarded by several critics (including Hart's brother, Bret) as being in bad taste.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/OwenHart/jun1_wrecal3.html |title=It's not over yet |publisher=Slam.canoe.ca |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref>
Tragedy befell the World Wrestling Federation at the ''[[Over the Edge 1999|Over the Edge]]'' pay-per-view on May 23, 1999 when [[Owen Hart]] [[Over the Edge (1999)#Owen Hart accident|tragically perished in an in-ring stunt gone wrong]]. The following night on ''Raw'', the entire episode was dedicated to the memory of Hart with various WWF personalities delivering out-of-character comments on the accident. While the episode was the highest rated edition of ''Raw'' up to that point,<ref name="2xZone"/> the episode was regarded by several critics (including Hart's brother, Bret) as being in bad taste.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/OwenHart/jun1_wrecal3.html |title=It's not over yet |publisher=Slam.canoe.ca |date= |accessdate=2012-08-14}}</ref>


On September 27, 1999, Mick Foley helped ''Raw'' achieve some of its highest ratings ever with a segment featuring himself (as Mankind) and The Rock. In a send-up of the old ''[[This is Your Life]]'' series, Mankind presented people from The Rock's past, such as a home economics teacher, gym teacher and old high school girlfriend, all of whom were hilariously dejected by The Rock. The ''This is Your Life'' segment remains one of the highest rated segments in ''Raw'' viewership history, with an 8.4 [[Nielsen ratings|rating]].
On September 27, 1999, Mick Foley helped ''Raw'' achieve some of its highest ratings ever with a segment featuring himself (as Mankind) and The Rock. In a send-up of the old ''[[This is Your Life]]'' series, Mankind presented people from The Rock's past, such as a home economics teacher, gym teacher and old high school girlfriend, all of whom were hilariously rejected by The Rock. The ''This is Your Life'' segment remains one of the highest rated segments in ''Raw'' viewership history, with an 8.4 [[Nielsen ratings|rating]].


====The end of the Wars====
====The end of the Wars====

Revision as of 01:42, 22 September 2012

WWE Raw
File:WWE RAW logo.svg
Created byVince McMahon
StarringWWE Roster
Opening theme"Tonight is the Night" by Jim Johnston
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons19[1]
No. of episodes1,008 (as of September 17, 2012)
Production
Executive producerKevin Dunn
ProducersArn Anderson
Gerald Brisco
Camera setupMulticamera setup
Running timeApproximately 3 hours per episode
(2 hour 15 minutes and commercials)
Production companyWWE
Original release
NetworkUSA Network (1993–2000, 2005 – present)
TNN/Spike TV (2000–2005)
ReleaseJanuary 11, 1993 (1993-01-11)[2] –
present
Related
WWE SmackDown
WWE Main Event
WWE Saturday Morning Slam

WWE Raw (also advertised as Monday Night Raw)[4] is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that airs on the USA Network in the United States. The show originally debuted in the United States on the USA Network on January 11, 1993.[2] It remained there until 2000, when Raw was moved to TNN, later known as Spike TV.[5] In 2005, the show was moved back to the USA Network.[6] Since its launch in 1993, Raw continues to air on Monday nights. Raw is generally seen as the company's flagship program due to its prolific history, high ratings, weekly three-hour live format, and emphasis on pay-per-views.[7]

Since its first episode, WWE Raw has been broadcast live from 197 different arenas in 165 cities and towns in nine different nations (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan in 2005, Iraq in 2006 and 2007 for specials Tribute to the Troops, Germany in 1997, Japan in 2005, Italy in 2007, and Mexico in 2011). The show currently broadcasts on a 3-week tape delay in South Africa on private broadcaster e.tv on Sunday evenings at 5:00pm. As of the show's 1,000th episode, airing on July 23, 2012, Raw has become a three-hour broadcast, a format that had previously been reserved for special episodes.[8]

Show history

1993–2002

Original format

File:Yokozunafujiraw.jpg
Yokozuna (left) and Mr. Fuji on the very first episode of Monday Night Raw

Beginning as WWF Monday Night Raw, the program first aired on January 11, 1993. It aired on the USA Network for one hour. The original Raw broke new ground in televised professional wrestling. Traditionally, wrestling shows were taped on sound stages with small audiences or at large arena shows. The Raw formula was very different than that of its predecessor, Prime Time Wrestling. Instead of taped matches, with studio voice overs and taped discussion, Raw was a show shot and aired to a live audience, with angles playing out as they happened. The first episode featured Yokozuna defeating Koko B. Ware, The Steiner Brothers defeating The Executioners, WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels defeating Max Moon and The Undertaker defeating Damien Demento. The show also featured an interview with Razor Ramon and an appearance by Doink the Clown.[9]

Raw originated from the Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center Studios, a small New York City theater, and aired live each week. The combination of an intimate venue and live action proved highly successful. However, the weekly live schedule proved to be a financial drain on the WWF, and taped shows began airing every other week. From early 1994 to September 1999, Raw was shown live on one Monday and then the next day (Tuesday) next Monday's Raw was taped. This meant that Raw was live one week and taped the next.

The storylines and characters during the early years of Raw still had a healthy dose of the old WWF "gimmick-heavy" style. For instance, events occurred such as Irwin R. Schyster tearing up Tatanka's headdress, the various "Undertaker sightings" in mid-1994 and characters like Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, Doink the Clown, or Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly.

File:WWF Monday Night RAW.jpg
WWF Monday Night Raw logo (January 11, 1993-March 3, 1997; November 15, 2010)

Raw, uniquely in its day, covered the unexpected, exciting moments and was tag-lined as "Uncut, Uncensored, Uncooked."[10] Some of those moments included Money Inc. viciously attacking Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake's surgically repaired face with a metal briefcase, Razor Ramon losing a match unexpectedly to The Kid or Marty Jannetty beating Shawn Michaels to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship.

Vince McMahon, Rob Bartlett and "Macho Man" Randy Savage served as the original hosts of Raw.[10] Sean Mooney conducted the interviews and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan also helped contribute. Raw also originally featured the Raw Girls; ladies who would parade signs around the ring in between matches that often used the term "Raw" in a pun (as in "Open Wide and Say Raw", among others). After about a year, Raw moved out of the Manhattan Center and traveled to various regular WWF venues in the United States. In mid-1995, Raw briefly showcased "Dok Hendrix and the Raw Band"; a musical performance in between segments on the show.

The Monday Night Wars and Raw is War

Main article: Monday Night Wars

In 1995, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) began airing its new wrestling show, WCW Monday Nitro, live each week on TNT.[11] Raw and Nitro went head-to-head for the first time on September 11, 1995. Due to Raw's taping schedule on several occasions, WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff, who also worked as an on-air authority figure, would frequently give away the results of WWF's taped Raw shows on the live WCW show. Some fans also looked at Raw taping results on the steadily growing Internet; this caused the ratings of the taped Raw episodes to decrease.

At the start of the ratings war in 1995 through to mid-1996, Raw and Nitro exchanged victories over each other in a closely contested rivalry. Beginning in mid-1996, however, thanks primarily to the nWo angle, Nitro started a ratings win-streak that lasted for 84 consecutive weeks, ending on April 13, 1998.[11]

File:Rawiswar.jpg
RAW IS WAR logo (March 10, 1997-September 10, 2001)
File:War Zone.jpg
War Zone logo

Controversy erupted on the November 4, 1996 episode when Brian Pillman, engaged in a feud with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, pulled a gun on Austin during a home-invasion segment. Pillman was also heard using the word "fuck" during the segment, which, due to the live nature of Raw, went uncensored. Executives at USA Network were not pleased with the episode and forced the WWF and Pillman to apologize for the incident.

On February 3, 1997, Monday Night Raw went to a two-hour format,[11] as an edgier, more hostile attitude was starting to come in full stream in the WWF. In an attempt to break the momentum of what had turned into ratings domination by Nitro, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was brought in as Jerry "The King" Lawler challenged ECW on February 17, 1997. In an episode where Raw returned to the Manhattan Center, the challenge was answered with Taz, Mikey Whipwreck, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, D-Von Dudley, and The Sandman and "ECW Representative" Paul Heyman appearing and performing ECW-style matches for the WWF audience.

File:WWF Raw Is War Stage.jpg
WWF Raw is War Titiantron used from December 13, 1999 - March 25, 2002, there were many variations of the design in that time.

On March 3, 1997, a house show from Berlin, Germany; which was filmed with few cameras and poor lighting and featured an array of cold matches with no storyline builds to them, aired as that week's episode of Raw. The show was very poorly received by fans (earning only a 1.9 rating, one of the lowest the show has ever recorded[12]) and WWF executives, alike.[13] The following week, Raw was completely revamped with a new set, new theme music (originally The Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson, later a WWF-created song), and was renamed Raw is War. The March 17, 1997 episode featured a heated Bret Hart/Vince McMahon altercation (that unknowingly foreshadowed the Montreal Screwjob) where Hart shoved McMahon to the mat and engaged in a profanity-laden tirade, much of which went uncensored.

Throughout 1997, further controversial elements emerged with Raw and WWF programming. Notable angles included Bret Hart and his Hart Foundation declaring war on the United States life-style, Paul Bearer delivering an intense promo on June 30 claiming that The Undertaker's brother Kane was still alive after surviving a house fire twenty years prior and claiming that the Undertaker had started it, gang warfare between the Nation of Domination, the Disciples of Apocalypse and Los Boricuas erupting in the summer, Steve Austin's building feud with WWF executives; primarily Vince McMahon (who was now being more and more acknowledged as the legit owner of the World Wrestling Federation), and the emergence of D-Generation X as an anti-establishment group.

After WrestleMania XIV in March 1998, which featured Mike Tyson as a ring enforcer, and Shawn Michaels final match up until 2002, the WWF regained the lead in the Monday Night Wars with its new "WWF Attitude" brand, led in particular by rising stars Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H and Mankind. The classic feud between the villainous WWF Chairman Vince McMahon (who was re-imagined and re-branded from the neutral commentator into the ego-maniacal corporate chairman character Mr. McMahon after the real-life Montreal Screwjob incident) and fan favorite "Stone Cold" Steve Austin caught the interest of fans. The April 13, 1998 episode of Raw, headlined by a match between Austin and McMahon, marked the first time that WCW had lost the head-to-head Monday night ratings battle in the 84 weeks since 1996.

While Raw was taking a new approach to programming, Nitro began producing lackluster programming with repetitive storylines. Older stars such as Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash frequently occupied the main events, while younger talent such as Rey Mysterio, Jr., Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Jr., Lance Storm and Shane Helms were not given opportunities to advance, and the only newcomers elevated to main-event status at this time were Goldberg and Diamond Dallas Page.

Meanwhile, on Raw, fans were immersed in the feud between Vince McMahon and Steve Austin, while superstars like Triple H, Mankind and The Rock were gradually elevated to main event status in the WWF. Other superstars such as Kane, Val Venis, the New Age Outlaws, and Edge among others were coming through the ranks and exposing the WWF as territory where new talent could ascend, as opposed to WCW. Matters were so heated between the two programs that, when both shows were in the Hampton Roads area on the same night (Raw in Hampton, Virginia, Nitro in Norfolk, Virginia), DX was sent to film a "war" segment at the Norfolk Scope where they berated WCW and interviewed fans on camera who stated that they received their Nitro tickets for free (presumably in an attempt by WCW to pack the arena to capacity due to low ticket sales).[14]

On January 4, 1999, Mick Foley, who had wrestled for WCW during the early 1990s as Cactus Jack, won the WWF Title as Mankind on Raw. On orders from Bischoff, Nitro announcer Tony Schiavone gave away this previously taped result on a live Nitro, and then sarcastically added "that's gonna put some butts in the seats" consequently resulting in over 600,000 viewers switching channels to watch Raw. This was also the night that Nitro aired a WCW World Heavyweight Championship match in which Kevin Nash blatantly laid down for Hulk Hogan after Hogan poked him in the chest.

Tragedy befell the World Wrestling Federation at the Over the Edge pay-per-view on May 23, 1999 when Owen Hart tragically perished in an in-ring stunt gone wrong. The following night on Raw, the entire episode was dedicated to the memory of Hart with various WWF personalities delivering out-of-character comments on the accident. While the episode was the highest rated edition of Raw up to that point,[12] the episode was regarded by several critics (including Hart's brother, Bret) as being in bad taste.[15]

On September 27, 1999, Mick Foley helped Raw achieve some of its highest ratings ever with a segment featuring himself (as Mankind) and The Rock. In a send-up of the old This is Your Life series, Mankind presented people from The Rock's past, such as a home economics teacher, gym teacher and old high school girlfriend, all of whom were hilariously rejected by The Rock. The This is Your Life segment remains one of the highest rated segments in Raw viewership history, with an 8.4 rating.

The end of the Wars

File:WWFRAW.JPG
WWF RAW logo (September 17, 2001-March 25, 2002)

A new television contract with Viacom led to changes in WWF broadcasting. On September 25, 2000, Raw moved from the USA Network to TNN (which later became Spike TV).[5]

WCW's sharp decline in revenue and ratings led to Time Warner's sale of the company to the WWF in March 2001. The final edition of Nitro aired on March 26, 2001. The show began with Vince McMahon making a short statement about his recent purchase of WCW and ended with a simulcast with Raw on TNN and Nitro on TNT with an appearance by Vince's son Shane.[16] The younger McMahon interrupted his father's gloating over the WCW purchase to explain that Shane was the one who actually owned WCW, setting up what became the WWF's "Invasion" storyline. Following the sale of WCW and the events of September 11, 2001, the Raw is War title was quietly retired and the program was now known simply as Raw.

2002–present

"Brand Extension"

Main article: WWE Brand Extension
File:MNrawlogo.jpg
WWF/E Raw logo (April 1, 2002-October 2, 2006)

In early-to-mid-2002, the WWF underwent a process they called the "Brand Extension".[16] The WWF divided itself into two de-facto wrestling promotions with separate rosters, storylines and authority figures.[16] Raw and SmackDown! would host each division, give its name to the division and essentially compete against each other. The split came about as a result of the WWF purchasing their two biggest competitors, WCW and ECW. The brand extension was publicly announced by Linda McMahon during a telecast of Raw on March 25, 2002, and became official the next day. Shortly thereafter, the WWF was legally required to change the name of the company to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Wrestlers became show-exclusive, wrestling for their specific show only. At the time this excluded the WWE Undisputed Championship and WWE Women's Championship, as those WWE titles would be defended on both shows. In August 2002, WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar refused to defend the title on Raw, in effect causing his title to become exclusive to SmackDown! The following week on Raw, General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded a newly instated World Heavyweight Championship to Raw's designated number one contender, Triple H. Because the WWE Undisputed Championship was now SmackDown! exclusive, it was no longer seen as "undisputed". Following this, the WWE Women's Championship soon became Raw-exclusive as well. As a result of the Brand Extension, an annual "draft lottery" was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.

Return to USA Network

The USA Network Version of the Raw modern titantron set that was used from October 3, 2005–January 14, 2008.

On March 10, 2005, Viacom and WWE decided not to go on with the agreement with Spike TV, effectively ending Raw and other WWE programs's tenure on the network when their deal expired in September 2005. On April 4, 2005, WWE announced a three-year deal with NBCUniversal to bring Raw back to its former home, the USA Network, with two yearly specials on NBC and a Spanish Raw on Telemundo.[6] On the same week as Raw's return to the USA Network, Spike TV scheduled Ultimate Fighting Championship's live Ultimate Fight Night in Raw's old timeslot in an attempt to go head-to-head with Raw.[17]

The show's first night back on USA was billed as the "WWE Homecoming", a three-hour special, and featured the return of former WWE Champions such as Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, Triple H and Vince McMahon, along with cameos from legends such as Roddy Piper, Jimmy Hart, Jimmy Snuka and Harley Race. Also, it featured a 30 minute Iron Man Match between Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle.[17] USA also showed Raw Exposed, an hour of the best moments of Raw during its previous run on USA. WWE announced that Raw received its highest ratings in three years, gaining close to six million viewers. On-camera, the show began to be referred to as "Monday Night Raw" again.

During the September 25, 2006 episode of Raw in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the opening of Raw suffered a blackout. Spotlights were the only lights running in the house, thus the opening match (between Lita and Candice Michelle) was contested in the dark. Power in the presentation was later restored. Another similar moment happened back on May 26, 1996 in Florence, South Carolina for WWF In Your House 8: Beware of Dog, when a major thunderstorm hit the Florence Civic Center causing major chaos for the PPV. That Tuesday, Beware of Dog, returned to North Charleston, South Carolina to finish out three matches that were not shown because of the lost power feed. That October, Raw held a three-hour season premiere called the "Raw Family Reunion", where the Raw brand debuted a new logo and theme song, Papa Roach's "...To Be Loved". The episode also featured talent from the SmackDown! and ECW brands. Later that month, on October 23, Raw aired its 700th episode, according to the WWE making it the longest running weekly entertainment show, without a hiatus, in television history,[16] though this claim has been disputed.

On June 25, 2007, Raw was scheduled in Corpus Christi, Texas to be a three-hour special memorial show for the storyline death of the Mr. McMahon character. Two weeks earlier, the show had broadcast an angle in which Mr. McMahon was presumably murdered by a bomb planted within his limousine. The 'Mr. McMahon' tribute was cancelled on the day it was due to air after the real life death of Chris Benoit and his family. The show was hastily canceled, the audience denied entrance to the arena, and became a three-hour tribute to Benoit, airing highlights from the WWE DVD 'Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story', and a selection of Benoit's most famous matches. Several wrestlers paid tribute in the form of real interviews about him, and Vince McMahon broke character to address the viewers about what had happened. However, when the facts of Benoit's death came to light, WWE pulled this episode from international markets which aired Raw on a tape delay basis. Several channels announced the episode was being withheld for legal reasons. A substitute Raw, hosted by Todd Grisham from WWE Studios, was created featuring recaps of John Cena's WWE Championship victories, mainly the ones that had occurred over the past year. The episode started with a message from Vince McMahon which originally aired on the June 26 edition of ECW. Some countries that received WWE programming up to three weeks late had all Chris Benoit matches edited out.

In December 2007, Raw celebrated its 15th anniversary in a three-hour spectacular on the USA Network. The Raw 15th Anniversary DVD was also released which featured some of the most memorable moments in Raw history.

Switch to HD

File:WWE-RAW-LOGO.png
Raw logo from October 9, 2006 to July 16, 2012. The "Supershow" suffix was added on August 29, 2011 and was used on-air until July 23, 2012
The first version of the WWE HD universal set, which was used from January 21, 2008-July 11, 2011.

WWE began 2008 with a new HD-friendly set, which consists of more than 1,000,000 LEDs. The introduction of this new set retired the old set, which was used from April 2002 to January 2008. Raws first show in HD was held in the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. That June, the World Heavyweight Championship returned to Raw after CM Punk used his Money in the Bank contract for an impromptu title match, defeating SmackDowns Edge.

On September 8, 2008, WWE announced that a "talent exchange" was started between ECW and Raw, allowing their respective talent to appear and compete on either brand. This is similar to an earlier "talent exchange" between SmackDown and ECW. On November 3, 2008, Raw celebrated its 800th episode with a three-hour episode (though, the actual 800th episode aired on September 22, 2008).

On June 15, 2009, Vince McMahon announced on a special three-hour edition of Raw that he had "sold" the show to Donald Trump, who appeared on-screen to confirm it and declared he would be at the following commercial-free episode in person. WWE issued a press release on the scripted sale while the USA Network later issued a statement confirming the "sale" as part of a storyline. The statement was issued in response to multiple news sources having mistakenly reported the event as legitimate. Due to the mistake, on the day following the announcement, WWE's stock on the New York Stock Exchange notably fell. Despite USA Network's acknowledgment that the sale was fictional, Randy Katz, a securities lawyer with Baker & Hostetler, commented on the Fox Business Network that a probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against WWE and USA Network owner General Electric "certainly is a possibility."[18] The next week, Vince McMahon repurchased Raw from Donald Trump and announced that a "Guest star" initiative originally introduced by Trump in response to the position of General Manager being vacant would go in effect on June 29. The guest host or hostess assumed the role of a General Manager, serving as Raws authority figure for the episode. The following year, it was announced that with Vickie Guerrero (and subsequently Bret Hart) becoming the new full-time General Manager, the guest stars (while continuing to appear) would no longer have authoritative power.[19]

In 2010, TNA Impact!, which normally airs on Thursdays, went head to head with Raw in a three-hour live broadcast. This would be the first time since March 2001 that two major wrestling promotions would go head-to-head in a Monday night ratings competition. TNA promoted the debut of Hulk Hogan leading to the broadcast.[20] WWE countered by announcing the return of Bret Hart, who had not appeared with the company since the Montreal Screwjob in 1997.[21] The ratings showed that, much like the first Monday Night War, Raw came out on top, averaging 5.6 million viewers while Impact! was watched by more than 3 million viewers for the opening hour, though towards the end of the show the viewership declined to 2.2 million viewers.[22] On March 8, 2010, Impact! permanently moved to Monday nights to compete head-to-head with Raw.[23] After declining ratings, Spike TV executives announced that starting April 5, Impact! would air an hour earlier than Raw.[24] However, Impact! was moved back to Thursdays as Raw garnered better ratings and the audience of TNA was reduced.[25] On April 19, 2010, many of the Raw superstars were stranded in Belfast due to the ash cloud from the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull hovering over most of Europe, causing many flights to be put on hold. Former ring announcer Lilian Garcia announced that night while the SmackDown roster took part in production of the Raw episode. On August 30, 2010, Raw aired its 900th episode. In November, Raw went "Old School", bringing back classic WWF styles, such as the WWF logo, red, white, and blue ring ropes, and button-up shirts with bow-ties for the referees, among other things.

On August 29, 2011, it was announced that SmackDown wrestlers would be allowed to compete on Raw full-time as part of the new Raw SuperShow format, with a similar announcement made for Raw wrestlers on SmackDown later that week. With both programs now featuring the full roster (as well as Raw and SmackDown house shows) this marked (for all intents and purposes) the end of the brand extension. On July 23, 2012, Raw celebrated its 1,000th broadcast while the "SuperShow" subtitle was quietly retired.

Production

During the 1,000th episode of Raw, "Tonight Is The Night" by Jim Johnston, was debuted as the theme for Raw while "Energy" by Shinedown serves as the secondary theme song. From November 16, 2009 to July 23, 2012, the theme song for the Raw brand was "Burn It to the Ground" by Nickelback.[26] Prior to this, the theme song for Raw was "...To Be Loved" by Papa Roach, which had been used since October 9, 2006 and "Across The Nation" by The Union Underground which was used from April 1, 2002 to October 2, 2006. The rap outro of "Thorn In Your Eye" featuring Scott Ian of Anthrax was the theme song from 1998 to March 25, 2002.

Since March 10, 1997, broadcasts of Raw were split into two hours and given hourly names for television ratings purposes, with the first hour being referred to as Raw is War and the second as War Zone by the show's on-screen graphics. However, as of October 1, 2001, the first hour has been referred to as Raw and the second as Raw Zone by the show's on-screen graphics. However, both hours are known as just "Raw" on-air. On May 17, 2012, WWE and USA Network announced that Raw would switch to a permanent three hour format beginning with the 1,000th episode on July 23, 2012.[8]

Presentation

The original set of Raw featured a standard 20' x 20' WWF style ring with the ropes colored red/white/navy blue. The ring posts, skirt, and steps were light blue. The mats on the floor, originally black, changed to light blue when Raw moved out of the Manhattan Center. A simple portal with a neon-lighted WWF logo served as the entrance-way. In late 1993, the ring skirt was changed to feature three WWF logos in red, white, and blue respectively on the hard camera side (and the side opposite), with the two sides on the left and right featuring a white skirt with "World Wrestling Federation" written beside the main logo. In 1995, the entrance-way was changed to feature large red letters that spelled "RAW", with the "A" featuring a video-wall in the center. After the program was rebranded as Raw is War in 1997, the "RAW" letters were replaced by a large projection-style screen, named the "TitanTron" with steel scaffolding supporting and surrounding the screen, and a long steel ramp leading down to the ring.

By April 1997, the ring posts were changed from blue to black, as were the turnbuckle covers, mats outside the ring, and ring steps. The ropes were originally colored red/black/red, but were quickly changed to all red. The ring skirt was also changed to a black design with "RAW IS WAR" in red and white on all four sides. By 1998, the TitanTron entrance-way adopted the new "WWF Attitude" logo at the portal as did the turnbuckle covers inside the ring. The metal security barriers surrounding ringside were replaced by black-padded walls. By 1999, a new TitanTron was designed with two additional vertical projection screens on either side, the USA Network logo at the top of the TitanTron (changed to the TNN logo after the network switch in September 2000) and a WWF.com logo at the bottom. By 2001, the logo at the portal was changed from a static prop to a small projection screen. After September 11, 2001, the Raw is War logos and nomenclature were retired and the ring skirts were redesigned to read simply "RAW." After the brand extension of 2002, the Raw set was drastically altered with a new parallelogram shaped TitanTron, new logos on the ring skirts featuring the new "RAW" logo on the front and back skirt (from the view of the hard camera), and a WWE.com logo on the left and right skirt. Also in 2002, the broadcast booth was moved from ringside to near the entrance. In 2005, the desk was moved back to ringside. In 2006, the Raw logo was changed again and was reflected on the ring skirts.

On January 7, 2008, WWE announced that all programming would be broadcast in HD, starting with Raw on January 21. WWE invested an estimated $20 million on new recording and broadcasting equipment to prepare for the move, as well as a new set featuring an HD Titantron, advanced pyrotechnics, and LED lighting. The move made this new HD set the universal set for all weekly programming. As part of Raw 1000 on July 23, 2012, a new modified HD set was introduced, which has also become universal for all weekly programming.[27][28]

Also in 2008, the black ring posts and steps were retired in favor of a silver color with the Raw logo adhered to the posts. The security walls outside the ring bore a WWE logo at the four corners, later changed to a WWE HD logo. In 2010, the red ring-ropes were retired after thirteen years and replaced by an all white scheme, which was also applied to the ring posts. In 2012, new ring skirts were introduced, showcasing the new Raw logo (facing the hard camera and opposite side) and a new WWE.com logo (left and right side).

From September 17—October 29, 2012, WWE will be working in conjunction with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to raise awareness for breast cancer. As part of this initiative, the Raw set (including the ramp, hard camera side ring skirt, and announcers table) will be adorned with pink ribbons and the ring will feature a pink middle rope.

Special episodes

Episode Date Rating Notes
Raw Bowl January 1, 1996 2.6[29] Super Bowl-themed episode, featuring a "Raw Bowl"
Raw Championship Friday September 6, 1996 3.4[29] Friday airing of Raw featuring WWF champions.
Royal Rumble Raw February 3, 1997 2.6[29] First two-hour Raw broadcast.
Featured clips from the Royal Rumble.
Thursday Raw Thursday February 13, 1997 3.3[29] A Raw episode airing on a Thursday.
Raw is Owen May 24, 1999 7.2[30] Tribute in memory of Owen Hart.
'Raw is War' March 26, 2001 4.7 The final night of the Monday Night Wars.
Vince McMahon addressed about the purchase of WCW by the WWF,
which was also broadcast on WCW Monday Nitro.
However, Shane McMahon interrupted his father's address by appearing on Nitro
to say that he purchased WCW.
The Brand Extension Draft March 25, 2002 5.4[31] Start of the Brand Extension.
Vince McMahon selects the SmackDown roster while Ric Flair selects the Raw roster.
2002 Raw Roulette October 7, 2002 3.8[32] The 1st edition, introduced by then Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff.
It featured the rosters of Raw and Smackdown.
The stipulations of matches were decided by the spin of a wheel.
Raw X Anniversary January 13, 2003 5.0[33] Award show that celebrated the show's 10th anniversary.
2003 Raw Roulette November 24, 2003 3.6[32] The 2nd edition that featured the rosters of Raw and Smackdown.
It featured the first-ever women's Steel Cage Match in WWE history (Lita vs. Victoria).
The stipulations of matches were decided by the spin of a wheel.
The 2004 WWE Draft Lottery March 22, 2004 4.5[34] The first Draft Lottery that featured a supplemental draft.
Raw Homecoming October 3, 2005 5.3[35] First three-hour Raw broadcast.
Return to the USA Network.
Eddie Guerrero Tribute Show November 14, 2005 4.9[35] Tribute in memory of Eddie Guerrero.
Tribute to the Troops December 19, 2005 4.2[35] Christmas from Afghanistan.
Honored American armed forces.
Raw Family Reunion October 9, 2006 5.0[36] First Raw special to feature the rosters from all three brands.
Tribute to the Troops December 25, 2006 4.1[36] Christmas from Baghdad.
Honored American armed forces.
2007 WWE Draft June 11, 2007 4.3[37] Featured the rosters from all three brands.
Chris Benoit Memorial June 25, 2007 3.8[37] Memorial to Chris Benoit and his family.
Clip show in international markets.
Raw 15th Anniversary December 10, 2007 4.4[37][38] Celebrated the show's 15th anniversary.
Tribute to the Troops December 24, 2007 4.0[37] Christmas from Iraq.
Honored American armed forces.
2008 Raw Roulette January 7, 2008 3.2[32] The 3rd edition that featured the rosters of Raw, Smackdown, and ECW.
The stipulations of matches were decided by the spin of a wheel.
King of the Ring (2008) April 21, 2008 3.0[39] King of the Ring tournament.
Featured the rosters from all three brands.
2008 WWE Draft June 23, 2008 3.4[39] Featured the rosters from all three brands.
Raw's 800th Episode Celebration November 3, 2008 3.0[39] Celebrated the show's 800th episode.
2008 Slammy Awards December 8, 2008 3.2[39] Slammy Award show.
Featured the rosters from all three brands.
2009 WWE Draft April 13, 2009 3.7[40] Featured the rosters from all three brands.
The Three-For-All June 15, 2009 3.6[40][41] Featured the rosters from all three brands.
Three world championships were defended; WWE, ECW, and World Heavyweight. In addition, this broadcast would be the final episode that the ECW brand and members of its roster would be on Raw
Trump Raw June 22, 2009 4.5[40][42] The first commercial-free Raw broadcast.
A Raw Thanksgiving November 23, 2009 3.3[40][43] Featured the rosters from Raw and SmackDown.
Jesse Ventura guest star.
2009 Slammy Awards December 14, 2009 3.3[40][44] Slammy Award show.
Featured the rosters from all three brands.
Dennis Miller guest stars.
Raw's WrestleMania Rewind March 15, 2010 3.7 Featured re-matches from past WrestleMania events.
Stone Cold Steve Austin guest stars.
Monday Night SmackDown April 19, 2010 3.1 Due to air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption,
most of the Raw roster remained in Europe after a European tour.
As a result, the SmackDown brand was featured in for the week's WWE Raw program.
Will Forte, Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe guest star.
2010 WWE Draft April 26, 2010 3.1[45] Featured the rosters from Raw and SmackDown.
SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and John Cena took over authoritative duties.
Commercial-Free Raw May 17, 2010 3.4 The second commercial-free Raw broadcast.
Buzz Aldrin guest stars.[46]
Three-Hour Viewer's Choice Raw June 7, 2010 3.1 Featured the rosters from Raw and SmackDown.
Match selections were voted on WWE.com.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Sharlto Copley guest star.[47]
Debut of the Nexus.[48]
Raw's 900th Episode Celebration August 30, 2010 3.5 Celebrated the show's 900th episode.
2010 Raw Roulette September 13, 2010 3.0[49] The 4th edition that featured the rosters of Raw and Smackdown.
The stipulations of matches were decided by the spin of a wheel.
NFL Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco guest starred.
WWE Old School November 15, 2010 3.3 Three-Hour edition that featured appearances by former talent and personalities. Everything in the show was also supposed to temporarily revert to the 1993 RAW format; however while some items from 1993 were used (such as the ring and the theme music), it used the 1980's-era WWF opening as well as the stage set-up from around 1996, making it more of an anachronism-type episode than an actual "old-school" episode.
King of the Ring (2010) November 29, 2010 3.1 Three-Hour King of the Ring tournament.
Featured talent from both Raw and SmackDown.
Miss USA Rima Fakih guest stars.
2010 Slammy Awards December 13, 2010 3.1 Slammy Award show.
Featured the rosters from Raw and SmackDown.
2011 WWE Draft April 25, 2011 3.6 Featured the rosters from Raw and SmackDown.
The Rock's Birthday Bash May 2, 2011 3.3 Birthday celebration for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in his hometown of Miami, FL
Mýa and Pitbull guest star.[50]
WWE All Star Night June 13, 2011 3.5 Three-Hour edition that featured talent from Raw and SmackDown.
WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin served as special guest Raw General Manager.
The episode's alternative title was Stone Cold Raw.
Power to the People June 20, 2011 3.2 Three-Hour edition that featured the rosters from Raw and SmackDown.
Match selections were voted via mobile phone.
2011 Raw Roulette June 27, 2011 3.1[51] The 5th edition that featured the rosters from Raw and Smackdown.
The stipulations of matches were decided by the spin of a wheel.
WWE Hall of Famer "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels guest stars.
CM Punk also made his famous "pipebomb" shoot speech at the end of the show.
Raw Gets Rocked November 14, 2011 3.0 Three-Hour edition featuring The Rock and Mick Foley.
2011 Slammy Awards December 12, 2011 2.8 Three-hour Slammy Award ceremony.
Raw 1000 July 23, 2012 3.86 Special episode celebrating the show's 1000th episode.
This episode also starts the permanent 3-hour format, and introduces new logo of Raw.
Held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri
Charlie Sheen (via Skype) served special guest star and featured special appearances from legends and Hall of Famers
Raw's 20th Anniversary January 11, 2013 TBA 20th anniversary of Raw.

On-air personalities

Champions

See also: List of current champions in WWE
Championship Current champion(s) Date won Event Previous champion(s)
WWE Championship CM Punk November 20, 2011 Survivor Series Alberto Del Rio
World Heavyweight Championship Sheamus April 1, 2012 WrestleMania XXVIII Daniel Bryan
Intercontinental Championship The Miz July 23, 2012 Raw 1000 Christian
United States Championship Antonio Cesaro August 19, 2012 SummerSlam Santino Marella
WWE Tag Team Championship Daniel Bryan and Kane September 16, 2012 Night of Champions R-Truth and Kofi Kingston
Divas Championship Eve September 16, 2012 Night of Champions Layla

Authority figures

Authority Position Date started Date finished Notes
Ric Flair Owner November 19, 2001 June 10, 2002 Lost his position as per stipulation in a match against Vince McMahon.
Vince McMahon Owner June 10, 2002 June 15, 2009 New General Managers were assigned to Raw and SmackDown in the following weeks.
Eric Bischoff General Manager July 15, 2002 April 28, 2003 The WWE Board of Directors appointed Steve Austin as co-General Manager of RAW after Bischoff repeatedly abused his power.
Eric Bischoff and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin co-General Managers April 29, 2003 November 16, 2003 Austin lost his position of co-GM when his team lost to Bischoff's team at Survivor Series.
Eric Bischoff General Manager November 16, 2003 December 1, 2003 Mick Foley appoints himself as co-GM after being given an outside consultant job from Linda McMahon and the board of directors.
Eric Bischoff and Mick Foley co-General Managers December 1, 2003 December 15, 2003 Mick Foley walked out on a match with Randy Orton for the WWE Intercontinental Championship and gave up the position as co-GM based on the match stipulations.
Eric Bischoff General Manager December 15, 2003 December 5, 2005 Steve Austin served as "Sheriff" periodically through Bischoff's term. Fired by McMahon in December 2005 when he was tossed into the garbage truck.
Jonathan Coachman General Manager June 11, 2007 August 6, 2007 Served as "Executive Assistant" from May 2006 to June 2007 and from August 2007 to January 2008.
William Regal General Manager August 6, 2007 May 19, 2008 Lost his position as general manager due to being fired by Vince McMahon after losing a match to Mr. Kennedy.
Mike Adamle General Manager July 28, 2008 November 3, 2008 Resigned in November 2008.
Shane McMahon
Stephanie McMahon 		General Managers November 3, 2008 November 24, 2008 Control reverted to the McMahons.
The position was then claimed by Stephanie McMahon.
Stephanie McMahon General Manager November 24, 2008 April 6, 2009 Took leave of absence on February 23, 2009.
Vickie Guerrero served as "Interim General Manager" until April 2009.
Vickie Guerrero General Manager April 6, 2009 June 8, 2009 Opted to fully take over the position on Raw and resigned as General Manager of SmackDown.
Resigned in June 2009.
Donald Trump Owner June 15, 2009 June 22, 2009 It was announced that Trump had purchased the Raw franchise from Vince McMahon on June 15, 2009.[52]
Vince McMahon Owner, CEO, and Chairman June 22, 2009 Present
Various guest hosts Guest host June 29, 2009 May 10, 2010 An initiative established during Donald Trump's brief period of ownership.
The guest star position held authoritative control over the brand until May 10, 2010
Vickie Guerrero General Manager May 10, 2010 May 10, 2010 Resigned following the first day of tenure.
Bret Hart General Manager May 24, 2010 June 21, 2010 Removed of position by Vince McMahon.
Anonymous Raw General Manager (revealed to be Hornswoggle) General Manager June 21, 2010 July 18, 2011 Communications from the General Manager were received via email through a laptop on a podium and occasionally Michael Cole's iPad. The General Manager stopped sending emails when Triple H became COO. The laptop and podium were removed after October 2, 2011.[53] On the July 9, 2012 edition, it was revealed that Hornswoggle was behind the gimmick.
Triple H Chief Operating Officer July 18, 2011 Present The Board of Directors removed Vince McMahon from day to day power and handed the duties to his son-in-law. However, his authoritative control powers as general manager of running Raw are no longer needed and still remains as COO (see below).
Theodore Long Assistant to the COO September 5, 2011 October 10, 2011 Long was appointed by COO Triple H to aid him in running Raw Supershows, due to his being General Manager of Smackdown!.
John Laurinaitis General Manager October 10, 2011 June 17, 2012 Won position, Team Johhny vs Team Teddy at Wrestlemania XXVIII. Fired at No Way Out by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon as per pre match stipulation when John Cena defeated Big Show in a Steel cage match.
David Otunga Legal Advisor October 11, 2011 June 17, 2012 Lost the position following Laurinaitis' firing.
Theodore Long Assistant to the General Manager April 2, 2012 June 17, 2012 Became Laurinaitis' assistant after Team Teddy lost to Team Johnny at Wrestlemania XXVIII.
Eve Torres Executive Administrator April 23, 2012 June 17, 2012 Lost the position following Laurinaitis' firing.
Interim General Managers Guest GM June 18, 2012 July 16, 2012 Following Laurinaitis' firing, the Board of Directors would invite past Raw GMs and Commissioners to run both Raw and SmackDown on a weekly basis until a new full-time GM is named.
AJ Lee General Manager July 23, 2012 Present Was named the new Raw GM by Vince McMahon.

Commentators

Commentators Dates
Vince McMahon, Randy Savage and Rob Bartlett January 11, 1993–April 19, 1993
Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan and Randy Savage April 26, 1993–October 18, 1993
Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan October 25, 1993–December 6, 1993
Vince McMahon and Various Guest Commentators December 13, 1993–February 28, 1994
November 7, 1994–November 28, 1994
Gorilla Monsoon and Randy Savage June 20, 1994–July 4, 1994
Jim Ross and Randy Savage July 11, 1994–July 25, 1994
Vince McMahon and Randy Savage March 7, 1994–June 13, 1994
August 1, 1994–October 31, 1994
Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels December 5, 1994–February 6, 1995
Vince McMahon and Jim Cornette February 20, 1995–April 3, 1995
Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler April 10, 1995–July 29, 1996
Kevin Kelly, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler August 5, 1996–October 14, 1996
Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler October 21, 1996–November 1997
Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler November 1997–November 1998
April 1999–February 2001
November 19, 2001–June 19, 2005
May 8, 2006–June 23, 2008
Jim Ross, Michael Cole and Kevin Kelly[2] December 1997–February 1998
Jim Ross and Michael Cole[3] March 1998–June 1998
July 16, 2001-July 23, 2001
Jim Cornette and Shane McMahon September 21, 1998
Jim Ross and Michael Hayes[4] December 20, 1999
Jim Ross and Paul Heyman March 5, 2001–July 9, 2001
July 30, 2001-November 12, 2001
Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler and Jonathan Coachman June 26, 2005–October 10, 2005
Jonathan Coachman and Jerry Lawler October 17, 2005–October 31, 2005
Joey Styles, Jerry Lawler and Jonathan Coachman November 7, 2005–April 16, 2006
Joey Styles and Jerry Lawler April 23, 2006–May 1, 2006
Jim Ross and Tazz August 20, 2007
Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and CM Punk November 22, 2010–December 20, 2010
Michael Cole, Josh Mathews, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler[5] April 4, 2011 – May 2, 2011
Michael Cole, Josh Mathews, and Jerry Lawler[6] December 27, 2010–March 28, 2011
May 9, 2011 – May 23, 2011
Michael Cole and Josh Matthews September 19, 2011
August 27, 2012
Michael Cole, Jim Ross and Booker T[7] September 26, 2011 – October 3, 2011
Michael Cole, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler July 25, 2011 – October 10, 2011
July 23, 2012
Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Booker T November 21, 2011
March 26, 2012
Michael Cole and The Miz September 3, 2012
Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler November 1998–April 1999
June 30, 2008–November 15, 2010
May 30, 2011 – July 18, 2011
October 10, 2011 – September 10, 2012
Michael Cole, Jim Ross and John "Bradshaw" Layfield September 17, 2012

^ , Mathews became the alternate color commentator on Raw beginning December 27, 2010 due to Lawler's increased in-ring schedule (Lawler would continue as commentator when he was not wrestling). On March 14, 2011, Raw began using a full-time three man team with Cole announcing from his own separate table ("The Cole Mine"). Ross has also returned to the broadcast table since making his broadcast return at WrestleMania XXVII and the four announcers worked in rotating three man shifts. This ended on the May 23, 2011 edition of Raw when Michael Cole returned to the normal announce table. However, Mathews still serves as an alternate commentator for Raw if any member of the announce team is unable to continue with their duties.

^ From November 1997 until July 1998 Jim Ross served as play by play commentator for both hours of Raw, with the Michael Cole/Kevin Kelly tandem (later just Cole) as color commentator for the first hour (Raw is War), with Jerry Lawler taking over for the second hour (The War Zone).

^ Filled in for Jerry "The King" Lawler, who was recovering from injury.

^ Filled in for Jerry "The King" Lawler, who was attending the premiere of the film Man on the Moon

^ Filled in for Jerry "The King" Lawler, who recovered from a heart attack in Monteral.

Ring announcers

Ring Announcer Dates Notes
Howard Finkel January 11, 1993–August 22, 2002 Occasionally appears on Raw as a guest ring announcer
Tony Chimel April 1997–August 16, 1999 Made a one night return on May 30, 2011
Lilian Garcia August 23, 1999–Present Made a one night return on April 19, 2010, filling in for Justin Roberts when the Raw roster was stuck in Europe after the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption; Also returned at the June 25, 2012 Episode of Raw and Raw 1000 on July 23, 2012.
Justin Roberts March 2007–June 2007
September 27, 2009 – present

Recurring segments

Segment Host Years Notes
The King's Court Jerry Lawler 1993–1995 In-ring interview segment.
The Heartbreak Hotel Shawn Michaels 1994 In-ring interview segment.[54]
The Brother Love Show Brother Love 1995–1996 In-ring interview segment.
The Pillman XXX Files Brian Pillman 1997 Video segment. Discontinued following Pillman's death.
The Love Shack Dude Love 1998 In-ring interview segment.
Highlight Reel Chris Jericho 2003–2005
2008–2010
2012 		In-ring interview segment.
White Boy Challenge Rodney Mack
Theodore R. Long 		2003 Five minute match challenge to Caucasian talent.
Discontinued following Mack's defeat by Goldberg
WWE Diva Search Jonathan Coachman
The Miz
Todd Grisham 		2004–2007 WWE Diva Search competition segment.[55]
Masterlock Challenge Chris Masters 2005–2007
2010
 Submission challenge to break Masters' Masterlock hold.
Discontinued after Bobby Lashley broke the hold.
Kurt Angle Invitational Kurt Angle 2005 Three minute match challenge for Angle's gold medals.
Discontinued after Angle moved to SmackDown.
Carlito's Cabana Carlito 2005
2007–2008 		In-ring interview segment.
Discontinued after Carlito moved to SmackDown.
Piper's Pit Roddy Piper 2005, 2010, 2012 In-ring interview segment.
The Cutting Edge Edge 2005–2007
2010 		In-ring interview segment.
Discontinued after Edge moved to SmackDown and was forced to retire from professional wrestling.
V.I.P. Lounge Montel Vontavious Porter 2009–2010 In-ring interview segment.
Discontinued after MVP was drafted to SmackDown and released from WWE.
Khali Kiss Cam The Great Khali 2011 In-ring fan interaction segment.
Miz TV The Miz 2012–present In-ring interview segment.

A.M. Raw

WWE Raw
File:AMRAW.JPG
Created byVince McMahon
StarringRaw brand
Opening theme"Burn It to the Ground" by Nickelback
Country of originUnited States
Production
Running time1 hour
Original release
NetworkUSA Network
ReleaseOctober 8, 2005 (2005-10-08)[56] –
present

WWE A.M. Raw, a Saturday night/Sunday morning show, airs on the USA Network at 2 a.m. ET.[57] It features segments from the latest episode of WWE Raw. A.M. Raw also features news updates from all across the WWE. The show mostly airs the main event matches and promos that aired on Raw (some of which are abridged for timing purposes), and shows the event schedule for the upcoming weeks.

International broadcasters

The show airs live on the USA Network (and on tape delay Wednesdays on mun2 in English, Saturdays on Universal HD, and Sundays on mun2 in Spanish (Morning broadcast) and in the original English (5:30pm Eastern broadcast) in the United States). Occasionally, Raw is aired on same-day tape delay when WWE is on an overseas tour. Raw is also shown live on Sky Sports 3 in the UK and Ireland and on Sky Sport 2 in Italy. Sky Deutschland in Germany began airing Raw live and in HD on February 14, 2011. Raw has also been airing live in Mexico on TVC Deportes since October 6, 2008 and on over-the-air network Canal 5 since June 18, 2012.[58][59]

Country Network Ref
Arab world AD Sport 6 HD [60]
Arab World MBC Action [61][62]
 Argentina [63]
 Australia Fox8 [64][65]
 Bangladesh TEN Sports [66][67]
 Belgium AB3 [68][69]
 Bhutan TEN Sports [66][70]
 Bulgaria bTV Comedy [71][72]
 Bolivia Red PAT [73]
 Bosnia and Herzegovina OBN [74]
 Brazil Esporte Interativo [75]
 Canada The Score and Global Quebec [76][77]
 Chile UCV Television [78][79]
China China Various Local Networks [80]
 Costa Rica Repretel Canal 11 [81]
 Czech Republic Nova Sport [82]
 Ecuador Teleamazonas [83]
 El Salvador Canal VTV [84]
 France NT1 and RTL9 [85][86]
 Germany,  Austria,   Switzerland,  Luxembourg,  Liechtenstein
(Live broadcast) 		Sky Sport 1, Sky Sport HD 1 [87][88][89][90][91][92][93]
 Greece Nova Sports 3 [94][95]
 Honduras Canal 5 [96]
 Indonesia MNC Sports 2 [97]
 India,  Pakistan,  Sri Lanka,    Nepal TEN Sports [66][98][99][100]
 Israel Sport 1 [101][102]
 Italy
(Live broadcast) 		Sky Sport 2, Sky Sport 2HD and Mediaset Italia 2 [103][104]
 Japan J Sports 4 [105]
 Lithuania BTV [106]
 Mexico
(Live broadcast) 		Canal 5, TVC Deportes & MVS Visión (52MX & MC) [107][108]
 New Zealand The Box [109][110]
 Norway TV 2 Zebra [111]
 Panama RPC Canal 4 [112][113]
 Peru ATV [114][115]
 Philippines Jack TV (2005–2012), Studio 23 (2012–present), Balls Channel (2012–present) [116][117]
 Poland Extreme Sports Channel [118][119]
 Portugal Sport TV [120][121]
 Romania Sport.ro [122]
 Russia
 2×2 [123]
 Serbia Fox televizija [124]
 Singapore SuperSports [125]
 South Africa E.tv [126][127]
 Spain MARCA TV [128][129]
 Sweden Eurosport [130]
 Thailand TrueVisions [131]
 Ukraine QTV [132]
 United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland Ireland
(Live broadcast) 		Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports 3HD [133][134]

See also

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