By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

WWE Raw on Labor Day Monday, September 3, 2012 scored a 2.83 rating for all three hours, down 10 percent from a 3.14 rating the previous two weeks. It was the lowest overall rating since May 28.

The standard two-hour rating was a 2.85 rating, which was the result of the final hour (not the new first hour) dragging down the overall rating.

- Raw averaged 4.20 million viewers for all three hours, which was the second-fewest of the 3-Hour Raw era. Again, the average was dragged down by the final hour (as opposed to the new first hour).

The final hour averaged a year-low 3.91 million viewers. The score was lower than the final hour of the May 28 episode (against the NBA Playoffs and Hatfield & McCoy combo) and the January 9 episode (against the BCS National Title game). The previous final-hour-low was 3.85 million viewers on November 7, 2011.

The hour-by-hour break down of Raw was 4.31 million first hour viewers, 4.40 million second hour viewers, and a steep decline to 3.91 million third hour viewers.

- Externally, Raw's final hour was opposed by a down-to-the-wire conclusion to ESPN's college football game, which averaged 4.30 million viewers overall, two episodes of "Pawn Stars" on History, and a TNT drama, "Perception," which outdrew Raw.

As a result, Raw ranked #5 in overall viewers Monday night. Raw did rank #1 in key male demographics despite significant drop-offs in adult male viewers compared to last week.

Raw's m18-34 rating was down three-tenths of a rating compared to last week, the m18-49 rating was down nearly three-tenths, and males 12-34 was down one-and-a-half-tenths. Meanwhile, the unpredictable teen males 12-17 rating swung up three-tenths after swinging down five-tenths the previous week.

Caldwell's Analysis: And, viewer fatigue during the 3-Hour Raw era has officially set in. Plus, a dreadful, filler-filled second-half of the second hour likely drove viewers away to other programming (or to do other things) during Raw's third hour.

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