WWE RAW Ratings Down This Week For Chris Jericho vs Big Cass Main Event
Has WCW Monday Nitro finally turned the tide in the Monday Night Wars? Wait, what...
Despite having its own network and no mainstream professional wrestling competition, ratings still matter in the crazy world of World Wrestling Entertainment. The obsession with viewer numbers certainly can't be helped by the almost-weekly news that numbers are down, but you'd think that in 2016 this would hold a little less importance.
This past week's episode of Monday Night RAW drew a total of 3.238 million viewers, down from the previous week's number of 3.432 million. The breakdown saw 3.345 million tune in for the first hour, which dropped to 3.356m for hour two and subsequently to 3.013m for hour three. All of this left RAW in third place on cable in viewership, and also in third place when it comes to the 18-49 demographic, behind the NBA Playoffs.
The advertised main event for RAW was Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho, but this doesn't really explain the numbers laid out above. These trends are nothing new, as it continues to be abundantly clear that three hours is just too long for a professional wrestling show. The fact that the NBA Playoffs are mentioned at all shows another problem, that there is no competition for WWE in its genre.
Even so, the numbers aren't what WWE would like them to be. Maybe this is all part of Eric Bischoff's master plan...