WWE celebrates 25 years of Raw live tonight with simulcast

WWE will celebrate 25 years of Monday Night Raw tonight live from two different locations: the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the Manhattan Center in New York City.

The broadcast will be a live simulcast with Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Booker T calling the action from the Barclays Center and Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler doing commentary from the Manhattan Center. The exact format of the show has been kept under wraps.

WWE Raw made its premiere on USA Network on January 11, 1993 and has been a staple on cable television ever since. Tonight’s Raw will be the 1,288th episode.

Raw spent its first seven years on USA Network before moving to TNN – later renamed Spike TV – in September 2000. After five years on Spike TV, WWE returned home on USA Network and it is now in its 13th consecutive year on the property owned by NBCUniversal. The show has been a 3-hour broadcast since July 2012, a move which became permanent on the 1000th episode of Raw.

In its 25-year history, Raw has undergone 13 theme song changes, ranging from in-house production to themes performed by Papa Roach, Nickelback, The Union Underground, and the current one from Shinedown.

While Raw’s viewership is down by over 50% compared to the height of the Attitude Era, the show continues to be a ratings powerhouse on Monday nights on cable television especially in the all-important 18-49 male demographic.