20 Days That Changed WWE Forever

Television was always important for wrestling promotions, but it was typically seen as a tool to drive revenue - it would hype matches that could be seen locally at house shows and later, live on pay-per-view. Most wrestling programming was syndicated, but some major companies - like WWF and WCW - had nationwide distribution on cable, usually on the weekends.

WWF changed all of that on 11 January 1993 with the introduction of Monday Night Raw. For the first time since the "Golden Age" of wrestling, a live, weekly pro wrestling broadcast would air regularly in prime time. The hour-long broadcast featured the top stars of the company, albeit still primarily competing in the squash matches that were typical of television at the time. Nevertheless, it felt more important than any show that anyone else was doing.

Twenty-four years later, Monday Night Raw is still the flagship show for WWE. Much has changed - the show expanded to two (and then three) hours and major matches are part of the construction every week - but fans still associate Mondays with wrestling thanks to Raw.