Ever since WWE made Monday Night Raw a weekly three-hour show in 2012, fans and wrestlers alike have debated the value of the show’s third hour. On the one hand, it brings in a massive financial haul for WWE, but at the same time many fans argue that it causes WWE’s flagship show to drag each week. After the third hour’s ratings dipped below two million viewers a few weeks back, WWE was reportedly pressured by television executives at both NBCUniversal (owner of the USA Network) and FOX (which will be home to SmackDown starting in October) to try new ideas to boost the show’s ratings. On top of introducing the WWE 24/7 Championship, the company is reportedly planning on giving Raw’s final hour a more “gritty” feel, hence the subtle changes in the show’s production in recent weeks.
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Mick Foley, who was on Raw every week from July 2016 to March 2017 as the show’s general manager, described the challenges of the show being three hours in an interview with Busted Open Radio this week.
“The idea is that the third hour is going to get rougher, wilder, and more unpredictable,” Foley said. “When I was GM, I knew that people were breaking towards the SmackDown show because it was the darling of the Internet. The idea was ‘why don’t you try [having] a third hour.’ It was like a giant albatross around your neck. The third hour is really difficult. I think it’s an idea to have the third hour more unpredictable and more like the Attitude Era.”
One attempt to help boost rating over the past couple of weeks has been Brock Lesnar teasing a cash-in with his Money in the Bank contract. As part of the build for the upcoming episode of Raw, Paul Heyman has promised that Lesnar will indeed use his contract against Universal Champion Seth Rollins at some point during the show.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please be advised my client @BrockLesnar hereby cashes in the @WWE #MoneyInTheBank contract …#RAW @StephMcMahon @WWERollins #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/35SWHC2c65
— Paul Heyman (@HeymanHustle) May 31, 2019
Whether that indeed means Lesnar will actually wrestle on Raw for the first time in more than a decade remains to be seen.
Raw’s latest episode drew in 2.19 million viewers, which despite being the highest-rated show on cable on Memorial Day, was down 12 percent compared to last year’s Memorial Day episode.
