Mercedes Mone comments on the detrimental effect of losing the third hour of WWE Raw on performers, especially women.
WWE recently announced that Raw will return to a two-hour format in October, the first time in over a decade. Raw is currently slated to remain a two-hour show until the final episode of WWE Raw airs on the USA Network in December 2024.
During a recent appearance on The Breakfast Club, Mercedes explained that having a third hour of WWE Raw was essential to the performers as it allowed more talent to be featured. When speaking about women, Mercedes noted that the third hour of WWE Raw allowed women more time to wrestle every week.
“I think that sucks for the wrestlers. If you lose a whole hour, that’s a whole opportunity of performing in front of a live audience and in front of millions watching at home, but I think just the move to Netflix is so huge for them that they’re gonna gain so much more opportunities in so many different other ways," she said. "I think it’s great for performers to get more opportunities, especially for women. We’re only given five to eight minutes, so we need that extra hour—we need that time to tell a story.
WWE Raw was a three-hour broadcast throughout Mercedes Mone's tenure as Sasha Banks. Mercedes had numerous opportunities to make history on WWE's flagship program before leaving the company in 2022.
Fans can read her comments on being talked down to by the WWE's former chairman, which led to her departure, at this link.
Should you use any portion of the quotes above, transcription credit should go to Fightful with a H/T linking back to this article.
