WWE News: Monday Night Raw Scores Higher Ratings After SummerSlam

After its move to a permanent three-hour format on Monday night, WWE Raw saw its ratings plunge to lower levels. This week, Raw was able to finally breathe a little after its SummerSlam pay-per-view.

The Monday, Aug. 20 edition of WWE Raw saw an increase in viewership from last week (via TV By the Numbers).

In the show's first hour, Raw had 4.35 million viewers. Raw's viewership increased to 4.65 million during its second hour, and in the third hour, Raw dropped to 4.42 million viewers.

The second and third hours of Raw scored a 1.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic, helping the show edge higher on the Top 50 cable television rankings.

Are These Encouraging Numbers for WWE?

WWE Monday Night Raw has struggled to gain in the ratings after its move to three hours. For this week, WWE officials have plenty to smile about, as this was the first sign of progress for Raw. 

After its SummerSlam pay-per-view, there were many items for wrestling fans to watch, such as the aftermath of the Triple H and Brock Lesnar match. However, taking a closer look at the results, viewership dipped during the third hour. It is not encouraging to see viewership slip to near the first-hour level.

After putting on a pretty solid showing on Monday night, the key for the WWE is to make all three hours of television time worth watching. The first hour could be used effectively to refresh storylines and feature some matches to warm up the live crowd and viewers at home.

Overall, Raw finally has some momentum heading into next week.

What to Watch For

On this past edition of Monday Night Raw, WWE played with some new feuds and potential matches for its upcoming pay-per-view, Night of Champions.

Lesnar, who opened up Raw with Paul Heyman, posted a video on Tout announcing that he will be leaving the WWE after his victory over Triple H at SummerSlam.

The question now is, will Lesnar reappear in the WWE again in 2012?

After his loss at SummerSlam, John Cena will once again be on a new quest for the WWE Championship. Cena, who ended the show with Punk on Raw, talked about challenging the reigning champion at Night of Champions in September.

Although the match was not made official just yet, it appears the WWE is set on it happening.