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WWE Monday Night RAW has become synonymous with the USA Network since the program first debuted in 1993. RAW previously aired on USA Network from it's debut episode on January 11, 1993 to September 18, 2000.
However, for a brief 5 year period, Monday Night RAW left the USA Network and moved to TNN/Spike TV from September 25, 2000 to September 26, 2005.
During a recent episode of his "Something To Wrestle With" podcast, WWE Executive Bruce Prichard discussed RAW moving from USA Network to Spike TV in 2000.
The current Executive Director of Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown revealed that USA Network "regretted" losing WWE's flagship broadcast to Spike TV in 2000:
"First of all, I think it's turned out alright, second of all, you have to understand the overall scope of things and understand that when you look at things with tunnel vision, you only see one thing. And when you're looking at things through a skewed view like most so-called journalists or gossip writers do, they look for what the juicier story is and they choose to overlook that this was a deal with NBC Universal, and the overall scope of being involved with Universal, and NBC, and all of its partners back home where they understood us - on USA Network." (h/t Wrestling INC)
Bruce Prichard on RAW returning to USA Network in 2005
After a 5-year run with Monday Night RAW airing on Spike TV, the flagship broadcast of the WWE returned to the USA Network, beginning with the October 3, 2005 episode of Monday Night RAW.
When recalling the reasons that WWE RAW returned to the USA Network, Bruce Prichard revealed that it was a case of "coming home". Prichard also stated that WWE wasn't just interested in working with the USA Network though. The company was particularly interested in working with NBC Universal as a whole:
"USA Network regretted that we left and that we went to Spike, It was a time of coming home and it was a time of working together again, but also, it was a time of saying, 'Hey, look, we're not just looking at the USA Network, we're looking at NBC Universal as a whole, and the different partnerships that we have, and how we can utilize those and go through and the doors that opened up not just from one little USA Network in Monday Night RAW, across the board with theme parks, which we did partnerships with the Universal Theme Parks and did different things. But it was a good synergy." (h/t Wrestling INC)
It was a good marriage, It was a lot more than - again, when you are able to go back and you're able to have 2020 hindsight and read that, and you read [Vince's] thoughts on it, again, I think that tells you where he comes from with things that he writes, and says, and his grasp of reality, or lack thereof."(h/t Wrestling INC)
What are your favourite moments of Monday Night RAW on the USA Network?
