By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

WWE Raw on Labor Day Monday, September 5 scored a 3.0 flat rating, down from a 3.14 rating last week, but above a 2.97 rating two weeks ago.

Raw averaged 4.19 million viewers - the lowest of the year other than the Fourth of July Raw, which was expected due to the holiday. The first hour averaged 4.22 million viewers, and the second hour declined slightly to an average of 4.16 million viewers.

Raw rarely sees a drop in viewership from the first to second hour, but it marks the third week out of the last four weeks where Raw's audience declined in the second hour.

-- Despite the holiday, other top-rated Monday night cable shows held their audience. Notably, History Channel's "Pawn Stars" averaged 6.0 million viewers against the second hour of Raw.

Overall on cable TV, Raw was #6 behind History Channel, ESPN's college football, and TNT dramas. Among males 18-34 and males 18-49, Raw was #2 behind Pawn Stars. Raw ranked #1 among males 12-34, but ranked #6 among teen males. WWE was accustomed to dominating the teen male demos on Monday nights, but the audience hasn't been as strong since WrestleMania, and has seen significant drops the last two months.

-- Looking back to last year's Labor Day period, Raw memorably dropped from a 3.50 rating on August 30, 2010 to a 3.00 rating on Labor Day Sept. 6. Raw hovered around the 3.00 mark for the remainder of the year vs. the NFL regular season except for a 3.33 ratings pop on October 4, 2010 the night after the Hell in a Cell PPV when John Cena was forced to join Nexus.

The overall rating was the same both years. Also, last year's Labor Day Raw averaged 4.24 million viewers - first hour 4.33 million viewers and second hour 4.15 million viewers. The second hour was nearly identical to this year's second hour viewership.

The key difference is the demographic ratings. Among males 12-17, this week's Raw was down 30 percent vs. same week last year. Among males 18-49, the decline is 11 percent. Among males 18-34, it's 10 percent. Among all adults 18-49, the decline is 15 percent.

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