Not many fans watching at home realize that WWE Superstars, especially on the “Raw” brand, are routinely made to hang around in the ring for long periods prior to matches.
While wrestlers camping out in the ring is customary, the new format of RAW has reportedly prolonged the wait time. Between the advertisements, video packages, interviews and recap segments, the downtime between the start of an entrance to the beginning of a match regularly exceeds 15 minutes these days – especially for the RAW main events. However, the near 20-minute gap for the 5/30 RAW main event between Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan seemed particularly egregious.
According to Fightful Select, a lot of the WWE Superstars dislike the new norm of hanging around for long periods and have conveyed their complaints to WWE higher-ups. Fightful reached out to several Superstars who had been subjected to the waits over the last year. The wrestlers were reportedly told that the TV show’s format “was what it was” and it was intended to “improve the show flow.” When one talent was asked what they did during the wait time, they said “talk to the crowd, dance, get annoyed that I’m waiting that long.”
During the aforementioned 5/30 RAW main event, Morgan stood in the ring for 19 minutes prior to her match against Ripley, according to fans at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. During that break, WWE on USA Network cut to a commercial break, played a memorial day package, and also showed a promo to build up to the Hell in a Cell premium live event.
