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'And in this corner,
Floyd Mayweather'

No, hand him a mike. He's guest hosting 'WWE Raw'

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Aug 24, 2009

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Forget “Today” or “The Late Show with David Letterman.” These days if you have a movie, TV show or sporting event to promote, you go on “WWE Monday Night Raw.”

The long-running cable show, which airs at 9 and 10 p.m. tonight on USA, has been attracting a huge number of guest stars in recent weeks. If they’re not exactly A-list, they’re a cut above C-list; call them B-plus.

Tonight undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather, who has come out of retirement for a bout next month, will guest host the hybrid sports and entertainment show.

He follows actors Seth Green and Jeremy Piven, self-promoter/reality show star Donald Trump and NBA MVP LeBron James into the ring. Each host engages in a bit of self promotion, flogging whatever new bit they have coming out soon, while also appearing in a shamelessly cheesy opening sketch.

It’s mostly harmless fun, but it’s also incredibly telling that celebrities, or more specifically their handlers, have decided that “Raw” is as good a place to promote their new movie as anywhere.

It speaks to the power of USA, cable generally and of course Vince McMahon, who does nothing if not self-promote.

USA has been the top network on cable for years, sometimes even outdrawing broadcasters during the summer, and not just the CW. There have been weeks this year when USA actually finished ahead of ABC.

“Raw” tends to go through up and down cycles for viewership, but both the 9 and 10 p.m. editions are top 10 staples on cable, placing No. 2 and No. 6 with averages of more than 5.2 million total viewers.

By comparison, no single morning news show or late-night talk show, the usual stops for celebs hyping a product, drew more than 4.8 million viewers the previous week.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
MONDAY, AUGUST 24
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	NBC	“Great American Road Trip” (R)	Season finale. The final two families head toward California on Route 66.
8 p.m.	ESPN	“Monday Night Football” (S)	The Jets versus the Ravens in a preseason matchup.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Dating in the Dark” (R)	Season finale. The contestants get help from a former FBI profiler.
9 p.m.	TNT	“The Closer” (D)	Brenda and the team track a murderer who wears a ninja costume.
9 p.m.	USA	“WWE Monday Night Raw” (S)	Undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather serves as guest host.
10 p.m.	History Channel	“Clash of the Gods” (N)	A look at the Minotaur, the legendary half-bull, half-man.
10 p.m.	MTV	“Making His Band” (R)	The remaining wannabes start rehearsing Diddy’s upcoming album.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Singer Colbie Caillat performs.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Hell’s Kitchen” (R)	The final 10 roll dice to get their ingredients for a challenge dish.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Shaq Vs.” (R)	Volleyball stars Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh take on Shaq and Todd Rogers.
9 p.m.	NBC	“America’s Got Talent” (R)	The final 10 acts from the top 40 perform.
9 p.m.	History Channel	“The Universe” (N)	Examining what Earth would be like if there was no moon.
10 p.m.	FX	“Rescue Me” (D)	Tommy bartends for the guys after a rescue attempt gone bad.
10 p.m.	A&E	“The Cleaner” (D)	William thinks a star ballerina has a drug addiction.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	ABC	“Wipeout” (R)	Tonight’s episode includes an obstacle called Ballsy-Go-Round.
9 p.m.	NBC	“America’s Got Talent” (R)	Five more acts make it to the top 20.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Crash Course” (R)	Series premiere. Five teams of two compete in challenges on driving courses.
9 p.m.	Discovery	“Man vs. Wild” (R)	Bear deals with a spitting cobra and blood-sucking leeches in Vietnam.
9 p.m.	TNT	“Leverage” (D)	Nate and the team try to track down some priceless artwork.
10 p.m.	MTV	“The Real World” (R)	Newly single Jonna celebrates.
10 p.m.	A&E	“Criss Angel: Mindfreak” (R)	Angel tries to levitate an entire Las Vegas crowd.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	CBS	“Big Brother” (R)	Another houseguest is bounced from the house.
8 p.m.	Fox	“NFL Football” (S)	Preseason battle in Florida between the Dolphins and Bucs.
9 p.m.	History Channel	“Marked” (N)	Series premiere. New show looks at the history of tattoos and other body markings.
9 p.m.	MTV	“Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory” (R)	Season premiere. Rob gets into horse racing and turns into a jockey called Bolt Speedman.
10 p.m.	Lifetime	“Project Runway” (R)	Week two of “Runway” on Lifetime.
10 p.m.	USA	“Royal Pains” (C)	Season finale. Hank helps a woman who is experiencing hallucinations.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 28
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Might have to wake up the kids for this one: Miley Cyrus performs.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” (G)	Jennie Garth, Deborah Norville and Rick Fox are contestants.
8 p.m.	CBS	“NFL Football” (S)	More preseason action, tonight between New England and Washington.
8 p.m.	Disney Channel	“Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie” (M)	Made-for-TV movie based on the show should draw solid ratings.
9 p.m.	Animal Planet	“Jockeys” (R)	One jockey races at the Dubai World Cup and another returns after a two-year injury.
9 p.m.	USA	“Monk” (D)	In order to prevent an assassination, Monk must pose as a hit man.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 29
Time	Network	Program	Description
Noon	ABC	“Little League Baseball” (S)	The international championship at the Little League World Series.
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Third-round coverage of The Barclays from Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey.
3 p.m.	ABC	“Little League Baseball” (S)	More Little League World Series, this time the U.S. championship game.
8 p.m.	CBS	“NFL Football” (S)	Chargers versus Falcons in more preseason play.
9 p.m.	NBC	“25th Anniversary of Wrestlemania” (S)	A Wrestlemania 25 highlights show.
9 p.m.	Syfy	“Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus” (M)	Another of Syfy’s over-the-top movie titles.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 30
Time	Network	Program	Description
2 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Final round of The Barclays, won by Vijay Singh last year.
3 p.m.	ABC	“Little League Baseball” (S)	Championship game from the Little League World Series.
8 p.m.	CW	“Daytime Emmy Awards” (A)	The 36th annual event, hosted this year by Vanessa Williams.
8 p.m.	NBC	“NFL Football” (S)	The Bears face off against the Broncos in a preseason game in Denver.
9 p.m.	Comedy Central	“Futurama” (C)	First of a four-parter in which Fry can read minds.
10 p.m.	AMC	“Mad Men” (D)	The writers battle boredom while working mandatory overtime.
10:30 p.m.	HBO	“Entourage” (C)	Eric sets up a meeting with Sloan but then gets a call from Ashley.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.