WWE News: Raw Rating Increases All Night for Three Hours

Last night, WWE held a decent three-hour Monday Night Raw. I gave the show a C grade, as the entire WWE Universe gets closer and closer to Sunday's Extreme Rules event.

However, it is now about the facts from last night. Opinions are great to have, but numbers don't lie. For a reminder, last Monday's Raw drew a stagnant 3.1 rating.

This week, WWE saw a little bit of an increase.

The first hour (special start time) of Raw drew 3,662,000 million viewers.

The second hour (normal beginning) of Raw drew 4,671,000 million viewers.

The third hour of Raw drew 4,832,000 million viewers.

The official number for the three hour Raw was a 3.0 rating.

Counting just the normal two hours would have been a much better 3.3 rating.

My Thoughts on This News

Well, the first hour drew poorly. About one million people missed out on the special start time. Everybody expected that. For some reason, fans either just can't remember or have something else going on at that time. 

It never fails. Also, this really shows how patient some viewers are during a three-hour wrestling show. Some may stick around all night, while others may tune out. This week, viewership kept going up all night long!

As for the show, I loved how it was spaced out. The company teased a huge opening, so you had to tune in early. Of course, the big moment was Edge returning, not the Extreme Rules contract signing.

That drew you into the show and made you wait for Brock Lesnar's arrival. It was a smart move to get extra viewers, and I suspect a huge overrun rating later this week.

Kane and Randy Orton were given the next "big" time slot during the normal start time of Raw. Two big names feuding and a Paul Bearer surprise may have done the trick. 

The final hour began with Chris Jericho and CM Punk in the ring. Their entire "alcohol" story is wearing thin, but it was the WWE Championship feud getting attention. Nothing wrong with that! 

Of course, the show closed with John Cena agreeing to wrestle Brock Lesnar this Sunday. The segment was a little tough to get through, but both men will deliver at Extreme Rules.

As you can see, WWE gave all the big names attention at the appropriate time. Do not think for one second WWE does not purposely put these talents at the top of each hour.

As with all companies, WWE would still like to see that number grow. Right now, I just don't see that happening very much. Outside of a major event this Sunday, I expect more of the same next week. 

As for Smackdown, they bounced back nicely from their previous Tuesday live special disaster (1.5 rating). The Blue Brand drew a 1.80 rating with 2.73 million viewers last Friday night. 

Smackdown continues to perform well on Fridays in a taped format. Going live on a different night has been proven to be a bad move with nearly every single attempt by WWE. 

All in all, it was a nice week for WWE. With Sheamus vs. Mark Henry set for Smackdown and an exclusive Michael Cole interview with Randy Orton, it will be intriguing to see if that helps the rating!

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