10 Weird Wrestling Matches That Drew Incredible TV Ratings
2. The Rock vs. The Brooklyn Brawler (Raw - 28 February 2000) - 6.33
Look up The Rock's list of foes from 2000 and you'll see the likes of Triple H, Chris Benoit and Big Show pop up regularly. In amongst those top names, there's one anomaly: The Brooklyn Brawler. This wasn't some house show squash, either. It took place live on Raw and in the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden.
Vince McMahon must have owed Brawler a favour or something.
The segment pulled a 6.33 rating regardless of the disparity in star power between Rock and Steve Lombardi. That shows Rocky's drawing power in 2000, and how much fans had taken to him as the WWF's top babyface in the absence of Steve Austin.
Over on Nitro, Lex Luger vs. Buff Bagwell posted a 2.15 quarter in the same spot. That couldn't have been fun for Luger, Bagwell or WCW higher-ups to read on Tuesday morning when the ratings flooded in. Rock or not, The Brooklyn Brawler, a jobber relic from the 1980s, had managed to outdraw two of WCW's biggest stars simply by taking a beating.