WWE Raw XXX draws huge viewership increase – full details and historical perspective

Last night’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw on USA Network drew over 700,000 more viewers than the show averaged the prior 20 weeks. It was the first episode Raw was unopposed by a pro football or major college football game in 20 weeks, and it was loaded with WWE Legends making special appearances.

The show averaged 2.344 million viewers, with a commercial-break-free first hour drawing an impressive average of 2.635 million viewers. The Aug. 1, 2022 Raw drew an average of 2.433 million viewers in the first hour. The last 16 weeks, Raw’s first hour averaged 1.70 million viewers. This week’s first hour drew nearly 900,000 more viewers than that.

The second hour dropped to an average of 2.373 million viewers and the third hour dropped to 2.024 million. The first-to-third hour dropoff of 611,000 viewers was, not surprisingly, the highest dropoff since the Jan 19, 2019 episode.

In the core 18-49 demographic, Raw drew a 0.70 rating, up from 0.42 last week and above the 16 week average also of 0.42. The male 18-49 demo shot up t0 0.92 from 0.55 last week and a 16 week average of 0.54. The male 18-34 demo drew 0.92, up from 0.55 last week and a 16 week average of 0.54.

Raw finished in the top three positions among all cable shows in the core 18-49 demographic. The first two hours also outdrew anything on broadcast television.

Besides big name former wrestlers such as Ric Flair, Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Hulk Hogan, WWE also advertised a cage match between Becky Lynch and Bayley. The match was scratched and replaced with an angle because the show was running long and they didn’t have time for a full-fledged match.