WWE News: People in the Company Dreading Raw's New Expanded Format

Let's face it: The concept of moving Raw, WWE's flagship show, to a new three-hour format has always been one fraught with pitfalls.

For one thing, it means even more stress and work for backstage people in the company, notably the production crew and the writing team. The producers and writers are already tirelessly churning out many, many hours of wrestling programming with Raw, NXT, Superstars, SmackDown and the company's new and improved YouTube channel, before you even factor in this extra hour.  

The new format also carries the risk of burning out even the most loyal of WWE's audience, who simply may not be willing to sit through a three-hour Raw marathon.  

Comparisons with WCW Nitro, a once-thriving show which floundered badly in its later years partly due to being expanded to three hours, are invariably called to mind.   

In this week's (subscribers-only) Wrestling Observer Newletter, Dave Meltzer provides an intriguing update on the backstage feelings about the extra hour. Needless to say, it doesn't seem like folks at WWE are too happy about it:

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Almost nobody in WWE is happy about Raw going three hours as a full-time thing. One person in the company told me that he can’t find one person who thinks it’s a good idea in the long run.

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It will be interesting to see how this story develops from here. While insiders hesitate to be too critical of the new format, at least before it's been given a chance, it's not a good sign if even those in the company aren't fully behind it.