For decades, Stefan Raab stood for new, funny television. As a presenter and producer, he set standards for what we define as entertainment. Whether on the music channel Viva, on his comedy show “TV total”, as the mastermind behind ESC winner Lena Meyer-Landrut or at his Wok World Championship. In 2015, the 57-year-old retired from the screen – and now he’s back in a flash.
“The biggest boxing event of the decade”
On Saturday (September 14th, 8:15 p.m.) – we have to assume this, even if it still sounds unreal – Raab will step into a ring in Düsseldorf and box against Regina Halmich (47). The Düsseldorf PSD Bank Dome is completely sold out with 14,000 spectators. Fists have already flown twice between Raab and the former boxing world champion, in 2001 and 2007, which feels like an eternity ago.
Is what the Cologne-based private broadcaster RTL is broadcasting live a kind of “Wetten, dass..?” revival feeling for the entertainment generation of the 90s and 00s? Does it work? RTL calls it “The biggest boxing event of the decade”.
How Stefan Raab became a Phantom
The attention will be great. Since the “Raab farewell” almost a decade ago (“Take care, thank you very much, I hope you had a bit of fun”), the former butcher’s apprentice from Cologne-Sülz had become a kind of phantom. People knew he was still around – but they didn’t see him anymore.
At the same time, his non-appearance made Raab even bigger year after year – we know such phenomena from religions. He continued to produce shows in the background. Someone had made the perfect break. Or so we thought.
Comeback der „Killerplauze“
When videos appeared around Easter that suggested a comeback of the “killer belly,” many observers thought it was an April Fool’s joke. In one clip, Raab was shown sitting in a chair by a picturesque lake, looking sluggish and overweight, pretending to be a dropout, but then announcing the fight. The date at the time spoke in favor of the April Fool’s joke theory. The punch line – his supposed physical change – sounded very much like Raab’s cosmos and could have appeared in an earlier “TV Total” edition.
Now, a few days before the fight, Raab has used this PR gimmick again. On Instagram, he once again portrayed himself as a sweaty, sluggish, overweight guy in a clip with the note “8 days left…”. He presented himself panting during punching bag training and emphasized that he couldn’t do any more. The script for the sensational effect of a well-trained Raab in the boxing ring in just a few days almost writes itself when watching the clip.
Reports about new Raab show on RTL
Since the comeback itself is no joke, the question has been raised as to what higher goal the “Raabinator” might be pursuing. To let Halmich beat him up again and then disappear again? Raab is credited with too much genius and ambition for that.
The rumor mill no longer assumes that this will be a one-off TV event. RTL is keeping quiet on the outside – no comment.
A touch of “Game of Thrones” on German television
But the “Bild” newspaper claims to have heard of plans for a Raab show on RTL, which is about looking for a “show heir” who will follow in “Raab’s television footsteps” – and that as early as the Wednesday after the fight at 8.15 p.m. That would be very explosive because Wednesday evening is now the broadcast slot for “TV total” on ProSieben – Raab’s old show, now hosted by Sebastian Pufpaff.
For some time now, however, Raab has been completely uninvolved there, as the production company Brainpool confirmed. He is on the market with a new company (Raab Entertainment).
There are a lot of rumors in the industry. The original father turning against his own show baby – that would be a bit like “Game of Thrones”. Will that happen? RTL actually announced the start of its new season of “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” for the Wednesday evening after the fight.
Dispute after Elton’s exit from Prosieben
It is also obvious that there is, to put it mildly, a tense competitive pressure between RTL and ProSieben. Raab’s loyal companion Elton was recently replaced by Matthias Opdenhövel on the ProSieben show “Schlag den Star”. The change of presenter was not exactly quiet, and Elton complained bitterly in public. The background was obviously conflicts about his appearances on shows on RTL.
Elton complained publicly after his departure from ProSieben. Photo: dpa/Thomas Banneyer
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A few days ago, ProSieben boss Hannes Hiller told our editorial team: “Raab is an outstanding piece of ProSieben history. A monument. But our future looks different. ProSieben stands for innovative, modern television.” Poisoned praise?
Marcus S. Kleiner, professor of media studies at the SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences, is also quite skeptical about Raab’s comeback. Of course, the presenter used to reach a young target group. “He was the young wild one,” Kleiner told the German Press Agency. “But that was a long time ago.” Now people are wondering what Raab will be now. “The wild old man?” asks Kleiner. “What does he want to offer that we haven’t seen before?” But perhaps it is enough for Raab to simply appeal to the target group that once grew up with him.
Regina Halmich on boxing match against Raab: “Blood can also flow”
While the champion himself – except for his Instagram posts – remains a phantom in public and thus remains in the news, his opponent Regina Halmich is available for questions and answers – although she also clearly still has a few questions.
When asked about Raab’s expected condition, she also feels her way towards an answer. “Stefan certainly wants to create a wow effect after the long break. That’s why I think I’ll meet the fittest Stefan Raab I’ve ever seen,” she told the German Press Agency.
Interview with Regina Halmich Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa
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She sees herself as responsible for the boxing side of things – and Raab for the entertainment. And perhaps even the old TV warhorse Raab feels a bit of pressure at this point. “He will definitely have to deliver on the way to the boxing ring. And I would guess that he lacks a bit of routine there, because he is no longer used to being in the public eye,” says Halmich.
The boxer certainly doesn’t want to hold back. “Nothing will be agreed upon and we will both go all out,” she says. “Blood may even flow.”
If Raab really plans to show his face in front of TV cameras more often in the future, one can only hope that it won’t be quite so bad.
