Vince McMahon was interviewed about the Raw 1000 on the WWE website. McMahon noted that the “Raw” name was one he came up with.
McMahon was asked about WCW Monday Nitro and the competition it provided for the company in the 1990s, saying, “Generally speaking, good competition is great for a product. It keeps you on your toes, and forces you to adapt.” He also noted that at the time, he wasn’t watching WCW but had others tell him what was going on, since he was focused on improving their own product.
When asked about Raw running WCW out of business, McMahon said that they didn’t, noting, “I don’t think we drove WCW out of business. That was certainly never our intent. That was the mindset of Ted Turner and WCW, but not WWE. See, if you spend all of your energy trying to kill the other guy, your product suffers. If you don’t kill the other guy, then he’s going to come back at you, and when he comes back, you won’t have done anything to make your house better. It’s no different than being in a fight and knowing that, if the other guy keeps on hitting you, that son of a bitch is going to wear himself out pretty fast.”
The idea of bringing Raw back to the Manhattan Center, where the first show was broadcast live in Raw 1993 was suggested to McMahon. He commented, “Actually, we’ve thought about it. But, the thing about nostalgia is that people, and WWE fans, tend to be more nostalgic about Superstars, rather than places. The audience is interested in the personalities, rather than how the business has evolved.”
McMahon also commented on balancing the product for fans today and the Attitude era fans, noting, “It’s a delicate balance. Prior to Raw, back in the territorial system, my father was on to something. He believed the future of the business was in “entertainment” more than the rest of the promoters. Raw stays true to that concept, because Raw is a variety show. You name it, and Raw has it. Action, drama, athleticism…Raw really does have it all.”
