By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Daniel Bryan's expected WWE TV return and the Bryan vs. Triple H feud boosted Raw TV ratings on Monday heading into WrestleMania.

Bryan's attack on Hunter in the final moments of the March 31 Raw was the most-watched portion of the show in the males 18-49 demographic.

During the non-overrun portion of the show, Triple H's speech at the top of the Second Hour teasing a potential Bryan appearance was by far the highest-rated quarter-hour.

The consistently strong TV ratings for Bryan-Hunter over the past month (excluding last week where Bryan did not appear on the show) point to their feud being the strongest heading into WrestleMania.

Raw TV Ratings Break Down (m18-49)

- Overall Show Average: 2.10 rating / 1.3 million viewers

- Q1: Raw opened with a weak 1.85 rating for the opening segment, which was Undertaker and Brock Lesnar's final exchange before WrestleMania.

Taker-Lesnar peaked with 1.288 million viewers at 8:12 p.m., below the show average.

- Q2: Raw fell to a show-low 1.66 rating for two commercials and the first-half of IC champion Big E. vs. Alberto Del Rio.

- Q3: Raw jumped to a 2.04 rating for the end of the match, one commercial, and the Wyatts delivering a message to John Cena.

The second-half with the Wyatts popped the quarter-hour rating, peaking with 1.433 million viewers at 8;41 p.m.

- Q4: Raw increased to a 2.09 rating as Raw built momentum heading to the top of the hour. The segment included Summer Rae vs. Natalya, one commercial, and the first-half of The Authority's speech.

***

- Q5: Raw popped a 2.55 rating for the second-half of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon teasing a Bryan appearance, plus one commercial at the end of the segment.

The segment built from 1.543 million viewers at 9:00 p.m. to a peak of 1.736 million viewers at 9:07 p.m. Batista and Randy Orton interrupted, then it became apparent Bryan was not coming out, which led to the audience tapering off to 1.658 million viewers when Raw went to break at 9:11 p.m.

- Q6: Raw began a Second Hour Slide to a 2.14 rating for an eight-man tag match centered on the top WWE tag teams, plus one commercial.

- Q7: Raw slid to a 2.03 rating for the end of the tag match, one-and-a-half commercials, and Rhodes Bros. vs. Damien Sandow & Fandango.

- Q8: Raw dipped to a 2.01 rating for Bray Wyatt vs. R-Truth and one-and-a-half commercials.

***

- Q9: Raw rebounded to a 2.17 rating at the top of the Third Hour for John Cena's post-match sneak-up on the Wyatts, one commercial, and A.J. Lee vs. Naomi.

The quarter-hour peaked with 1.554 million viewers at 10:02 p.m. for Cena sneaking up on the Wyatts.

- Q10: Raw dipped to a 2.09 rating for various videos, WM30 hype, and one commercial.

- Q11: Raw slightly increased to a 2.12 rating for Roman Reigns vs. Kane, one commercial, and the first-half of the Piper's Pit segment.

The end of Reigns-Kane and this portion of Piper's Pit were evenly matched. The match peaked with 1.499 million viewers and Pit peaked with 1.490 million viewers.

- Q12: Raw increased to a 2.21 rating for the second-half of Piper's Pit, one commercial, and the first-half of the original WrestleMania main event of Randy Orton vs. Batista.

The segment was boosted by the second-half of the Pit, which peaked with 1.619 million viewers at 10:48 p.m. By comparison, the first-half of the main event hit 1.519 million viewers at 10:59 p.m.

- Over-run: The over-run drew a show-high 2.68 rating - easily the highest over-run rating during Mania Season.

The final segment started with 1.609 million viewers at 11:00 p.m., peaked with 1.758 million viewers at 11:04 p.m. when Bryan attacked Hunter, and went off the air with 1.752 million viewers and 1.643 million viewers.

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