10 Pieces Of Wrestling Trivia That Will Astonish You

7. WWE RAW Is Not Even The Longest-Running Weekly Wrestling Show

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WWE

WWE Monday Night RAW is the, quote, "longest-running weekly episodic TV show" in the history of the small screen. WWE trumpets this "fact" constantly, which is strange, since Vince feels that numbering WrestleMania makes the show feel "old".

Mate, you've been promoting Randy Orton as a headliner for two decades. That ship has sailed. So RAW being old = good, WrestleMania being old = bad. Notwithstanding that dissonant insanity, RAW is not the longest-running weekly episodic TV show.

The Simpsons takes seasonal breaks, so that doesn't count.

"Stupid a**holes, giving your writers a break. You should have thought about that before we made up this thing that nobody gives a sh*t about!"

Breaks = bad. Can't make any records with breaks. But WWE RAW has not aired every single week since its 1993 premiere. For years, it was preempted by the Westminster Dog Show.

It's almost as if this wild claim is bullsh*t that has to be heavily, implicitly caveated. WWE further gets away with this claim with its use of the present tense. It's such a carefully-worded brag, but strictly speaking, RAW isn't the longest-running televised wrestling show in history. Portland Wrestling ran for 38 years locally, and RAW is a decade away from achieving that feat.

So RAW might be the longest-running weekly episodic TV show, present tense, in the U.S., to never take a break.

Except it has taken breaks.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!