10 Things Wrong With Every Episode Of WWE Raw

8. Advert Overload

Kevin Owens show
WWE.com

The reason RAW is three hours in length is because the epic duration lends itself to more commercial revenue. If they could get away with it, WWE would probably make the flagship seven hours long. A sobering thought. Let's hope the Law & Order and Modern Family repeats hold up their numbers in the 4-8PM slot.

Adverts are a necessary evil - but, in its wisdom, WWE shoehorn those breaks, unnecessarily, into the matches themselves, completely disrupting the flow of the action. RAW ratings have hovered just below the 3.0 mark, irrespective of how tiresome things get, because there is evidently a set number of people who are willing to put up with it. Those people aren't hanging on because they just have to find out whether Titus O'Neill can break the habit of a lifetime and win a wrestling match. Those breaks are so clearly telegraphed, by a heel catching a breather on the outside, that the illusion of realism is as dead in the water as momentum.

Recording the show and fast-forwarding through it barely helps - that button just reminds you that so much of it can be skipped...

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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 current Undisputed WWE 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!