By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Monday's WWE Raw fell to the lowest TV rating since the end of 2012. If not for The Rock's surprise appearance at the top of the third hour, Monday's show might have dropped even further to an historical low point.

Quarter-hour TV ratings indicate that Raw was on a flat line with no growth leading into Q9 at the top of the third hour. Rock's segment with Rusev and Lana easily delivered the high point of the show, then Raw immediately returned to the same flat level the remainder of the third hour.

The over-run - featuring John Cena in a handicap match against The Authority's henchmen - delivered a slight bump, but it was still down about 200,000 m18-49 viewers from Rock's segment.

Numerically in the males 18-49 demo, Rock's segment drew 1.387 million viewers and scored a 2.20 rating. The over-run drew 1.195 million viewers and scored a 1.90 rating.

The next-closest segment was Q8, which contained the first few minutes of Rock's surprise appearance, drawing 1.041 million viewers and scoring a 1.65 rating.

Also notable is two promoted segments did not fare well. The "Today Show" segment bombed in Q3 with a near-show-low 1.43 rating and 899,000 viewers. Also, Roman Reigns's on-camera interview bombed in Q6 with a 1.45 rating and 918,500 viewers.




Raw Break Down - m18-49 demographic

- Overall Show: 1.61 rating and 1.012 million viewers.

- Q1: Raw opened right at the average with a 1.63 rating and 1.029 million viewers for The Authority, John Cena, and Dean Ambrose, plus one commercial.

- Q2: Raw dropped to a 1.42 rating and 897,000 viewers for a thrown-together six-man tag of Dolph Ziggler & the Usos vs. Cesaro & WWE tag champs Rhodes Bros, plus one commercial.

- Q3: Raw stayed flat at a 1.43 rating and 899,000 viewers for Adam Rose's segment with "Today Show" hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. There was also one commercial.

- Q4: Raw stayed flat at a 1.47 rating and 925,000 viewers for Mark Henry vs. Bo Dallas and one commercial.

- Q5: Raw got a slight top-of-the-hour bump to the show average. The segment scored a 1.61 rating and drew 1.013 million viewers for Dean Ambrose and John Cena hashing out their issues before Ambrose checked out of Raw. This was followed by a commercial and Cena & Triple H backstage.

- Q6: Raw decreased to a 1.59 rating and 1.003 million viewers for Brie Bella vs. Summer Rae, one commercial, and Jack Swagger vs. Tyson Kidd. The Divas match outdrew Swagger-Kidd.

- Q7: Raw fell to a 1.49 rating and 941,000 viewers for Roman Reigns's "interview" with Michael Cole, one commercial, and El Torito vs. Hornswoggle in the "This is Stupid" match.

Most alarming is Reigns's on-camera was outdrawn by the Torito-Swoggle mascot battle. Reigns's segment peaked at a measly 997,000 viewers when Raw cut to break, while the mascot match peaked at 1.146 million viewers.

- Q8: Raw increased to a 1.65 rating and 1.041 million viewers for one commercial leading to a long Rusev & Lana talking segment before Rock made a surprise appearance just before the top of the hour.

The peak audience was 1.276 million viewers at 9:59 p.m. EST leading to Rock's dialogue with Rusev & Lana.

- Q9: Raw hit a show-high 2.20 rating and 1.387 million viewers. The peak was 1.535 million viewers at 10:07 p.m. in the middle of the dialogue. The segment then wrapped up with 1.531 million viewers at 10:09 p.m. before Raw cut to break at 10:13 p.m.

- Q10: Raw immediately fell back to the same level as before the "Halftime Show" with Rock & Rusev & Lana. This segment drew a 1.58 rating and 997,000 viewers for a Divas tag match, plus one commercial.

- Q11: Raw declined again to a 1.53 rating and 961,000 viewers for U.S. champion Sheamus vs. The Miz, plus one commercial.

- Q12: Raw declined again to a show-low 1.40 rating and 880,000 viewers for two commercials, Joan Lunden's on-stage speech, and the first few minutes of the Cena vs. Authority handicap match.

- Over-Run: Raw increased to a 1.90 rating and 1.195 million viewers for the latest non-finish main event, post-match return by Dean Ambrose, and chaotic brawl to wrap Raw.

Caldwell's Analysis: The exchange between Rock and Rusev & Lana really was like a Halftime Show providing a break from the filler and gunk before and after the segment. If not for Rock's return, this week's Raw performance could have been much worse. Also, it's no surprise the audience rejected the "Today Show" segment, but the reception to Reigns's on-camera interview should be a wake-up call. WWE needs to take him off the air for several weeks and let the audience anticipate his return from injury. The character is being force-fed right now, and the presentation of his "interview" on Raw only made matters worse.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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