WWE Raw Records Record Low Non-Holiday Rating
NBA playoffs trounced Monday's show.
Fingernails were likely being chewed to the bone in Stamford yesterday morning, as staffers fretted over this week's impending Raw rating. Many had predicted the show to suffer badly up against the NBA Finals.
Sure enough, Raw recorded just 2.13 million viewers, the lowest number in the modern era discluding Christmas Eve and New Years' Eve.
The fallout from Friday's Super ShowDown show failed to provide the usual post-pay-view-bump in viewing figures for the red brand. Over on ABC, the Toronto Raptors vs. Golden State Warriors NBA game pulled a huge 18.22 million sets of eyes - just under nine times as many flicking over to Raw.
29 April's episode, two weeks removed from WrestleMania 35, was the previous nadir for the company, watched in 2.16 million homes.
WWE can probably expect the number to lift slightly next week without competition from the NBA. The extent to which the rating bounces back will be very telling.
From the first to third hour of this week's Raw, viewerships dropped by a mammoth 19.8 percent. The show was headlined by Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens, with Sami Zayn appearing as referee outside the ring.
[Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter]