Backstage News On Internal Frustrations After First Two-Hour WWE Raw Since 2012

"WWE Raw" saw one of its biggest changes in years on October 7 as the show reverted to a two-hour format for the first time since 2012. This begins a three-month stretch of shows that will see the show stick with a two-hour runtime before potentially changing back to three hours when the show moves to Netflix on January 6, 2025.

Given that WWE's red brand has been used to the three-hour format for over a decade, there was some cause for concern backstage, which seems to be the case. According to "Fightful Select," there were some initial growing pains trying to squeeze everything into two hours. But given that the company has kept "WWE SmackDown" at two hours since the show's debut in 1999, formatting the show wasn't as difficult as some may have first suspected.

The biggest problem that people within WWE had with the October 7 episode was the women's match. The team of Katana Chance, Kayden Carter, Lyra Valkyria, Natalya, and Zelina Vega defeated The Unholy Union and Pure Fusion Collective in a ten-women tag team match that lasted just over seven minutes. The reason for the frustration was the perceived lack of direction for all of the women involved, as well as the majority of the match taking place during a commercial break.

By the time 2025 rolls around, WWE might have two shows with a three-hour runtime. As previously mentioned, "Raw" looks set to return to three hours – or near enough depending on how many commercials air — when it moves to Netflix, but there have also been reports of "SmackDown" moving to three hours in the new year as well. However, WWE has yet to make an official announcement.