January 12, 2008

It all began 15 years ago, when the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), formerly known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), aired its very first Monday Night RAW episode from Madison Square Garden, New York on January 11, 1993. A decade and a half has passed but this sports entertainment phenomenon, the longest running weekly television show in history, is still alive — creating thrill and excitement every week. Today, RAW is WWE’s major weekly show alongside Friday Night Smackdown and ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling).

The credit of WWE’s birth itself goes to the professional boxing and wrestling promoter Roderick James McMahon (1882-1954), the grandfather of WWE Chairman Vincent Kennedy McMahon. Vincent McMahon’s father, Vincent James McMahon, inherited this business in 1954 and developed it into the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF).

In March 1979, the WWWF was transformed into the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) when Vincent Kennedy McMahon bought this company from his father. In 2000, the World Wide Fund, also WWF, sued the World Wrestling Federation as no other corporation could use this acronym. On May 5, 2002, the official name of World Wrestling Federation, Inc was changed to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc or WWE.

The genesis of Monday Night RAW, however, took place in a small New York City theatre in Manhattan — the Grand Ballroom. The programme proved to be a trend-setter in professional wrestling by televisinag live shows in front of a robust audience and live television commentary — everything was live, unedited — it was pure RAW action. This weekly live schedule, nevertheless, was a monetary exhaustion on the WWE, and they had a solution. For six years, from 1994 to 1999, RAW was shown live on alternate Mondays — live on one week and a taped RAW was telecasted the other.

From 1993 to 1997, RAW was an hour-long programme, but from February 3, 1997, RAW was converted to a two-hour show. It was also the beginning of the Attitude Era in the WWE, the phase when superstars such as Mankind, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin made their presence felt in the WWE ring.

In 1996, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the strongest competitors of the WWE, started a weekly show called Monday Nitro, which held its dominance over WWE in television ratings for eighty-three continuous weeks. WWE then officially changed the name Monday Night RAW to Raw is War on March 10, 1997.

In March 1998, when WWE’s yearly pay-per-view event Wrestlemania XIV took place, WWE’s television ratings climbed ahead of WCW — all thanks to WWE’s Attitude Era. The WWE Chairman Vince McMahon also turned into a wrestler; previously he was a ringside commentator. Afterwards, due to a change in his in-ring persona, he was called Mr McMahon, an arrogant and viscous character who supported the bad guys in the WWE. A long-lasting battle instigated between Mr McMahon and Stone Cold, which on April 13, 1998, decisively placed Monday Night Raw ahead of WCW Nitro in ratings — it was the episode when Mr McMahon wrestled Stone Cold for the very first time.

WWE defeated WCW in television ratings to such an extent, that WWE purchased its rival brand in 2001. Soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks, WWE changed the name of Raw is War to WWE Raw. It was done for two reasons: first, it indicated that the war between WWE and WCW was over and secondly, it was a step to abolish the word “War” due to atmosphere of insecurity prevailing in the United States.

In 2000, WWE underwent a new television contract with Spike TV and changed its broadcasting from USA Network. Five years later, on March 10, 2005, WWE brought back its programmes on the USA Network after a break of six years and the first RAW was a three-hour episode called the WWE Homecoming — the longest in show’s history. WWE RAW also attained its highest television ratings as six million viewers watched this particular episode that was filled with former champions with the likes of Mic Foley, Triple H and other WWE legends.

For the past 15 years, the WWE has been a pioneer in professional wrestling, which it has branded as sports entertainment. Over the years they have replaced their ringside commentators who give live on-air commentary — uncut, unedited.

Talking about WWE RAW commentators, there has been one resilient pair that is still performing its duties — the 2007 WWE Hall of Fame inductees, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Jim Ross. Jim Ross made his commentating debut in July 1994 and Jerry “The King” Lawler in October 1994. The two became a pair from September 1996 to February 2001. Paul Hayman then replaced Jerry Lawler from February 2001 to November 2001.

The team of Jerry and Jim then resumed ringside commentary from November 2001 to October 2005. Then for eight months, Jim Ross was replaced by Jonathan Coachman (Aug 2005 to May 2006) and later by Joey Styles (Nov 2005 to May 2006) In May 2006, Jim Ross returned and has been Jerry Lawler’s partner since then.

The 15th anniversary of WWE RAW was celebrated on December 10, 2007 when RAW was held in Madison Square Garden, New York. It was again a three-hour breathtaking episode that featured WWE greats such as Mankind (Mic Foley), The Undertaker, The Godfather, Ted DiBiase, Howard Finkel, former RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff, and Hulk Hogan.

The former Intercontinental, WWE and ECW champion, Rob Van Dam, also made his return. Stone Cold also named the greatest superstar in Monday Night RAW’S history which was not one superstar but millions of them around the world — the greatest superstars are the fans themselves.

My friends have always asked me the rationale for which I became such an enthusiast for the WWE — they say these fights are fixed, which is true. But it’s the entertainment factor that has kept this bond alive, and which has kept the millions of viewers around the world on the edge of their seats. The pure electricity that surrounds the ring when Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, Triple H, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho or any another WWE superstar is in action has been unrivalled in sports entertainment for the past 15 years.