By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

WWE Raw on Monday, September 19 scored a 3.0 rating the night after the Night of Champions PPV to rebound from one of the lowest ratings of the last 14 years last week. It was the same 3.0 rating as two weeks ago on Labor Day.

Raw averaged 4.33 million viewers, up 12 percent compared to last week's alarmingly-low viewership. The first hour averaged 4.43 million viewers, then Raw decreased to an average of 4.22 million viewers in the second hour. (The second hour was opposed by the Charlie Sheen Roast on Comedy Central, Pawn Stars on History Channel, and ESPN's Monday Night Football.)

The overall rating and viewership were above the first two weeks of September, which included Labor Day and last week's show, but viewership was still nine percent below the post-WWE Draft average.

-- Looking at the demographics, the ratings increase was led by a strong adults 18-49 rating. It was the highest rating in the demo in 20 weeks dating back to May 2 for The Rock's birthday celebration in Miami. It appears WWE regained female/casually-interested viewers (perhaps due to John Cena back on top as WWE champion).

Every demographic rating was up compared to last week except for males 18-34, which continues to slide. Raw scored its lowest rating in the demo since July 11.

On the flip-side, WWE regained the teen males 12-17 audience (perhaps due to John Cena back on top as WWE champion) with a 28 percent increase compared to last week. This was after trending nearly-50 percent below the same level this time last year.

-- Raw was faced with unusually high competition on cable TV, including the "Roast of Charlie Sheen" on Comedy Central that averaged 6.43 million viewers, doubling the highest previous average for a Comedy Central roast. Also, ESPN's Monday Night Football game averaged 11.92 million viewers. History Channel's "Pawn Stars," which aired against the second hour of Raw, averaged 3.70 million viewers.

Overall on cable TV Monday night, Raw ranked #3 behind football and Sheen. Raw was also #3 in males 18-34, males 18-49, and males 12-34. Among male teens, which saw its highest rating in the demo in seven weeks, Raw ranked #7 on the night due to competition.

-- One year ago on September 20, 2010, Raw scored a 2.79 rating (slightly higher than last week's rating) against strong football competition and Week 1 of the fall season shows.

Other than the adults 18-49 demographic, the week-to-week demographic ratings were very similar, which was mainly due to lower ratings last year since erosion has set in this year.

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