Raw Rating: Monday’s rating for episode featuring Joe-Braun-Reigns, overview of summer trends and key metrics (w/Keller’s Analysis)

This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw on USA Network drew a live and same night DVR rating of 2.12, down from last week’s 2.13, but above the ten week rolling average headed into this week of 2.00.

Raw one year ago drew a 2.30 rating, so this week’s rating is down 0.18, less than a 10 percent drop. The average dropoff this year is 0.30, or well above 10 percent typically. The 2017 average is 2.11. The 2016 average through this week was 2.41.

There was still a dropoff from hour one to hour three, despite the third hour starting with the conclusion of the Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns main event, but the dropoff was less than usual. The first hour drew 3.19 million viewers, and the third hour drew 3.02 million viewers, for a total drop of 173,000. The second hour, as usual, was the most viewed with 3.28 million viewers. The main event was Big Show vs. Big Cass.

Keller’s Analysis: All in all, some signs of momentum for WWE in July after a rough May and June, perhaps buoyed by the prominence of Samoa Joe and Strowman in the mix, plus the Kurt Angle mystery. The May average was 1.88, the June average was 1.96, and the July average was 2.07. The key now is going to be trying to move along the Jason Jordan storyline faster than his lack of charisma in his current role drags down fan interest.