<P> On September 4 , 1995 , the WWF 's chief competitor World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) began airing its new wrestling show , Monday Nitro , live each week on TNT , which marked the start of the Monday Night Wars . Raw and Nitro went head - to - head for the first time on September 11 , 1995 . At the start of the ratings war in 1995 through to mid-1996 , Raw and Nitro exchanged victories over each other in a closely contested rivalry . Beginning in mid-1996 , however , due to the nWo angle , Nitro started a ratings win - streak that lasted for 84 consecutive weeks , ending on April 13 , 1998 . On February 3 , 1997 , Raw went to a two - hour format , to compete with the extra hour on Nitro , and by March 10 , it was renamed to Raw Is War . After WrestleMania XIV in March 1998 , the WWF regained the lead in the Monday Night Wars with its new `` WWF Attitude '' brand . The April 13 , 1998 episode of Raw Is War , which was headlined by a match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon , marked the first time that WCW had lost the head - to - head Monday night ratings battle in the 84 weeks since 1996 . </P>
<P> On September 4 , 1995 , the WWF 's chief competitor World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) began airing its new wrestling show , Monday Nitro , live each week on TNT , which marked the start of the Monday Night Wars . Raw and Nitro went head - to - head for the first time on September 11 , 1995 . At the start of the ratings war in 1995 through to mid-1996 , Raw and Nitro exchanged victories over each other in a closely contested rivalry . Beginning in mid-1996 , however , due to the nWo angle , Nitro started a ratings win - streak that lasted for 84 consecutive weeks , ending on April 13 , 1998 . On February 3 , 1997 , Raw went to a two - hour format , to compete with the extra hour on Nitro , and by March 10 , it was renamed to Raw Is War . After WrestleMania XIV in March 1998 , the WWF regained the lead in the Monday Night Wars with its new `` WWF Attitude '' brand . The April 13 , 1998 episode of Raw Is War , which was headlined by a match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon , marked the first time that WCW had lost the head - to - head Monday night ratings battle in the 84 weeks since 1996 . </P>
when did monday night raw go to 2 hours
when did monday night raw go to 2 hours
February 3 , 1997
February 3 , 1997