WWE Hall of Famer comments on how major change to RAW will force talent to step up
WWE RAW will undergo a massive change in the coming month. A Hall of Famer believes that the change will be for the best, as talent must work harder to get noticed.
Bully Ray recently appeared on Busted Open Radio to discuss various topics. During the podcast, a major change to RAW was discussed. For those unaware, the red brand has announced that it will move to a two-hour format starting in October for three months. The shift will prepare USA Network to switch to Netflix in 2025.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray stated he would love to have as many little fillers on the programming as possible. The two-hour format will allow RAW to have better quality.
"I'm an all killer, no filler kind of dude. Although 'RAW' has been super solid the past ... six months, a year," Bully said. "I stay very, very entertained. Years and years ago, you remember me and LaGreca would talk about, 'Hey, Dave, how many times did you fall asleep during 'RAW' last night?' That no longer happens," Bully said.
He stated that the change would impact WWE talent. Superstars will continue to work harder, and the locker room will be forced to “step up” to grab opportunities. He also noted that they will need to prove themselves to “force the hand” of the creative team.
"Back in my day, that's what you did," he explained. "You went out there and you had to get over. If you got over, creative would listen and go 'Okay, there's something there. Let's start writing for this act. Let's start writing for this talent. What are we going to do?' You've got to remember, Steve Austin was never supposed to have a microphone in his hand." [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
USA Network will look to get the best possible episodes of the red brand to cap off its contract with WWE. Triple H will likely try to build major storylines to help the company go big on Netflix.
Netflix may not have a fixed timing for WWE RAW
Unlike USA Network, which is a linear network with one show following the other, Netflix is a streaming service. This difference allows the platform to not focus on the duration of episodes, as they can vary according to the content.
PWTorch recently reported that there's no clear indication that WWE RAW will continue to be two hours long when the show moves to Netflix. At the time of the report, there was no confirmation regarding the runtime of the red brand on the streaming service.
WWE fans could see one week’s episode run on for over three hours, while the next week’s show could end at two and a half hours.