For the first time in decades, WWE Monday Night Raw will temporarily move to an earlier start time.
Beginning next Monday, September 15, the flagship show will air at 7 p.m. ET instead of its traditional 8 p.m. slot. The experiment will continue on September 22 and September 29 before Raw returns to its normal schedule in October.
According to WrestleVotes, the decision was made as a strategic experiment by WWE and its broadcast partner, Netflix, to see how the show performs against its biggest seasonal competition: Monday Night Football. With Netflix providing more scheduling flexibility than traditional TV, WWE is using the three-week window to gather data on viewership patterns.
The move is especially timely, as ESPN will air NFL doubleheaders on two of those Mondays. With the first kickoff at 7:15 p.m. ET, Raw’s one-hour head start means its main event should wrap before the most dramatic late-game moments, which historically have drawn viewers away from WWE programming. A source described the change as a “smart one,” allowing Raw to avoid going head-to-head with the NFL’s most crucial minutes.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer confirmed that the earlier start is strictly a test, emphasizing that Netflix’s flexibility allows for experiments like this—something WWE couldn’t do under the rigid constraints of cable. Ticket start times for the affected live events were quietly adjusted weeks ago, hinting at the broadcast change.
This is the latest example of WWE’s willingness to adapt its schedule since the historic January 2025 move to Netflix.
The company has already experimented with afternoon episodes of Raw to accommodate international audiences in the U.K., France, and Australia. How this three-week test performs will likely play a role in determining whether Raw’s permanent time slot could eventually shift.
