WWE Raw Ratings Aided By The Undertaker & Shawn Michaels Appearances
Could two legends save Raw's viewership this week?
Raw's viewership was expected to take a huge hit this week. The show was set to go head to head against the college football National Championship Game, which drew close to 25 million viewers on ESPN, and with that in mind, WWE brought in the big guns.
The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels were both advertised to appear in advance, and the show also saw Chris Jericho beat Roman Reigns to become United States Champion in the main event. It one of the most eventful Raws in months, and it looks like WWE's decision to stack the deck has paid -off.
Raw drew 2.907 million viewers this week, which is down from last week's 3.04, but should be considered a strong showing considering the competition. The hourly breakdown indicates that Taker and HBK were the major draws, with swathes of viewers changing the channel to watch the football game after their appearances. Raw's first and second hours drew 3.01 and 3.02 viewers respectively, with just 2.69 million tuning-in for hour three.
The better news is that this was the last Monday night football game of the season, which should see Raw's numbers increase further. Overall, Raw was rated 7th in the target 18-49 demographic.