WWE TV 14 rating could change the sport as we know it
By Scott Rogust
According to Andrew Zarian of the “Mat Men Podcast,” WWE Monday Night Raw will be rated TV-14 going forward, starting on July 18.
Since the mid-2000’s, WWE’s programming has been rated TV-PG and went for a more family-friendly approach to what they put on televisions. That appears to have come to an end based on a new report.
According to Andrew Zarian of the “Mat Men Podcast” and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Monday Night Raw will be moving back to a TV-14 rating moving forward. The change will be effective on July 18, when the show airs from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.
WWE Raw moving back to TV-14 rating
It is unknown if the rating change will also take effect for other programs such as Friday Night SmackDown on FOX or NXT 2.0 on USA Network. But what is confirmed thus far is that Raw will be moving on from the TV-PG rating.
Raw was originally a TV-PG rated show when it debuted in 1993, but the devision was made to move to TV-14 in 1997. That run lasted over 10 years before the company decided to go to PG back in July 2008.
With this change, fans probably want to know whether there will be significant changes to Raw programming moving forward. Will there be blood featured in matches? Will there be more swear words used in promos by WWE’s superstars? As of this writing, that is not yet known.
The only thing we can say is to tune into Raw on July 18 at 8:00 p.m. ET on USA Network to see if there are any changes. But it is now official — the TV-PG era is over, and the TV-14 era is back on Monday nights once again.
UPDATE: Zarian provided an update in a subsequent tweet, noting that WWE Raw will not go to TV-14 on July 18 after all, but that it is still in consideration for a later date. Zarian then tweeted that a memo that circulated within USA Network on the morning of July 14 regarding Raw going to TV-14, noting “apparently that was sent out prematurely and the date was not finalized.”
This is a wild situation. There’s a lot happening behind the scenes
— Andrew Zarian (@AndrewZarian) July 14, 2022
WWE Raw won’t be going to TV-14 on July 18th but still in consideration for a later date.
Will go live tomorrow morning to break this down. https://t.co/F29mP8xCwy
There was a memo within USA Network that went out this morning regarding WWE Raw changing to TV-14 on July 18th.Apparently that was sent out prematurely and the day was not finalized.
— Andrew Zarian (@AndrewZarian) July 14, 2022
Zarian said that there was “hesitation” if making the change to TV-14 was the right move.
We will continue to keep you updated on this story when new details are provided.
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