WWE Raw ratings lose 600,000 viewers from previous week

Raw ratings took a major slip on Monday, as WWE’s flagship show lost 600,000 viewers from the previous week.

Seth Rollins’ Adventures in Social Media weren’t the only issue WWE had to contend with on Tuesday, as ratings from Monday’s Raw dropped by a total of more than 600,000 viewers from the previous week despite a rare appearance from current champion Brock Lesnar.

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According to TVByTheNumbers, Raw’s ratings declined 15 percent, as 3.658 million tuned in compared to a total of 4.292 million the previous week. Monday’s show had a pre-Fastlane physical confrontation between John Cena and US Champion Rusev, more buildup between Triple H and Sting and another intriguing promo from Bray Wyatt. Despite all of that — plus a possible hint in direction for Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns — fans simply weren’t interested.

Raw started with 3.786 million viewers in the first hour, but saw the numbers tumble to 3.670 million in the second hour before petering out at 3.518 million in the final 60-plus minutes.

WWE can take solace in that it did have the highest rating among cable shows, yet the fact AMC’s “Better Call Saul” had more viewers among the critical 18-49 age group, drawing 1.6 million compared to 1.2 million for Raw.

Raw’s rating can be viewed on both sides of the coin. WWE continues to win on Monday night, especially now that the NFL season is over, and should be able to maintain the top spot throughout the spring and summer, with only the NBA playoffs being a possible barrier in May.

On the other side of the coin, it has to be a concern for WWE as they are in the midst of their peak “Road to WrestleMania” run. Viewers have not warmed up to Reigns as the possible new face of the company as Cena is on the slow track of slowing down. The continued lazy booking (Monday’s main event was a 5 on 2 tag match pitting Reigns and Fastlane opponent Daniel Bryan facing The Authority) has also contributed to fans’ disinterest; chances are good plenty of remotes clicked upon the official news that lifetime mid-carder Rikishi will be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame.

With Fastlane right around the corner, WWE needs a strong go-home show in order to fuel interest and subscriptions to its network. The buildup to the pay-per-view has been flat at best and the potential change to the WrestleMania 31 main event has also led to growing frustration.

WWE can say that things are fine, yet there’s only so much dirt one can sweep under the rug.

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