WWF Prime Time Wrestling WWF Prime Time Wrestling ( also known to fans as simply Prime Time or PTW ) was a TV wrestling program that aired on the USA Network from 1985 in 1985 - 1993 . A precursor to " Monday Night Raw " , " Prime Time Wrestling " was a two - hour long , weekly program that featured stars of the World Wrestling Federation . The program featured wrestling matches ( most of which were compiled from the WWF ' s syndicated programs of the era , combined with " house show " matches from venues such as Madison Square Garden ) , interviews , promos featuring WWF wrestlers , updates of current feuds and announcements of upcoming local and pay - per - view events . Past episodes of " Prime Time Wrestling " have been re - aired on WWE Classics On Demand since November 2004 . Main focus . Despite the format changes in its last years , the main focus of " Prime Time Wrestling " remained unchanged — recapping the highlights of the WWF ' s flagship syndicated programs and presenting occasional exclusive matches taped from the house show circuit . Selected matches from the past and present from WWF ' s flagship arenas of the time — Madison Square Garden in New York City , New York , Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto , Ontario , the Philadelphia Spectrum in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , and the Boston Garden in Boston , Massachusetts — that had aired on various regional sports networks were also aired on " Prime Time Wrestling " . History . Early years . Premiering on January 1 , 1985 , the original hosts of " Prime Time Wrestling " were Jesse Ventura and Jack Reynolds . Later , Gorilla Monsoon replaced Reynolds as Ventura ' s co - host , and Bobby Heenan would replace Ventura in 1986 . The Monsoon / Heenan era . The best - remembered " Prime Time " format featured Heenan and Monsoon introducing taped matches and analyzing them afterward , with Monsoon taking a neutral / babyface position and Heenan unashamedly cheering on the heels . The chemistry between Monsoon and Heenan made this show popular with fans for many years , despite the fact it was not considered one of the WWF ' s " primary " shows for most of its history . Many other wrestling programs — both produced by the WWF and by other companies — would attempt to copy this formula , with varying degrees of success . Although primarily a studio - based program , " Prime Time " would occasionally go on the road and tape its segments from various outside locations . Examples included Busch Gardens , Trump Plaza , the CN Tower , and Churchill Downs , among others . These segments rarely had much to do with the actual wrestling content of the program , and were played primarily for the comic interaction between Monsoon and Heenan . Heenan and Monsoon co - hosted " Prime Time " from 1986 - 1991 . Roddy Piper replaced Heenan briefly in the summer of 1989 , during the period Heenan " took over " the last half - hour of the " Prime Time " program for his own talk show ; after Heenan returned to the main program , Piper was retained for the remainder of 1989 as a second co - host . During Piper ' s tenure on the show , an angle began where Piper was told to refrain from becoming physical with Heenan , all to help build interest in Piper ' s ongoing feud with one of Heenan ' s protégés , Rick Rude , and to also create an avenue for Heenan to use his talents to provoke Piper . The angle culminated on the December 25 , 1989 , episode , where an enraged Piper attacked Heenan for claiming that Santa Claus was not real and otherwise making derogatory comments about children and Christmas . Piper was removed as co - host and Heenan was restored to his co - hosting position . Format changes . February 1991 - November 1991 . On February 18 , 1991 , " Prime Time " changed formats to something vaguely resembling a talk / variety show , with an in - studio audience . Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan hosted this version of " Prime Time " , with Lord Alfred Hayes serving as an announcer . WWF wrestlers were frequent guests during this particular incarnation of " Prime Time " , which was similar to the WWF ' s old " Tuesday Night Titans " program . Sean Mooney replaced McMahon during the pre - SummerSlam weeks until this format was discontinued in November of that year . November 1991 - January 1993 . " Prime Time " ' s final format debuted in November 1991 , and featured Vince McMahon and a panel of WWF personalities ( including , at various points , Bobby Heenan , Gorilla Monsoon , Jim Duggan , Randy Savage , Mr . Perfect , Jerry Lawler , Slick , Sgt . Slaughter , and Hillbilly Jim ) participating in a roundtable discussion about the goings - on in the WWF at the time . The final episode of Prime Time Wrestling aired on January 4 , 1993 . " Monday Night Raw " replaced it in its timeslot the following Monday . Storyline developments . One of the few instances where " PTW " was used in a significant storyline development was shortly before Survivor Series 1992 . An insinuation early in the show by Heenan ( then " financial consultant " to Ric Flair ) over the inferior status of Mr . Perfect within the Flair team ( who was " executive consultant " to Flair at the time ) , was taken advantage of over the course of the episode . This culminated in Mr . Perfect turning babyface , abandoning the Flair team and teaming up with Randy Savage against Flair and Razor Ramon in the main event . Such rapid plot developments were extremely rare at that time in the WWF but was necessitated by the departure from the WWF of Savage ' s scheduled partner , the Ultimate Warrior , mere weeks before the Survivor Series . " PTW " was also used to introduce the Brooklyn Brawler ( Steve Lombardi ) to the Bobby Heenan Family when the Brawler attacked Terry Taylor a . k . a . the Red Rooster ( who had left the Heenan Family after a falling out with The Brain ) and Gorilla Monsoon . Heenan first gave Lombardi the Brooklyn Brawler name on this program . " PTW " was also used to further the Roddy Piper / Rick Rude feud .