WWE Raw Viewership Sees BIG Increase For Season Premiere
The Ric Flair/Hulk Hogan segment was a particularly big hit.
It looks like the extra effort put into promoting this week's WWE programming paid off, because Raw's "season premiere" drew a decent number one Monday night.
Per Showbuzz Daily, Raw's average viewership sat at 2.57 million across the evening, which breaks down as 2.70 million for the first hour, 2.59 for the second, and 2.41 for the third. The average figure is an increase of roughly 370,000 from the previous week's 2.2 million.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has pointed out that the legends segment featuring Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, and Jimmy Hart on Miz TV was a big hit, pulling the best segment-by-segment figures in "a long time."
This is encouraging stuff. WWE have gone all out to draw attention to Raw, SmackDown, and NXT this week, and Raw's number bodes particularly well for SD in particular, which should pop an even bigger number given that it's on FOX, Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston is going down, and the bloody Rock is going to be in the house.
It should also be pointed out that these figures are artificially inflated by the special guest appearances and "season premiere" appeal. WWE can't use tactics like that every week, but it's a good sign regardless.