Examining Why WWE Raw Enjoyed Surge in Ratings Other Than the Rock's Return

The Rock rolled into WWE Raw and brought a sizable uptick in the ratings with him, but that's not something the company can rely on.

It's not every week that Raw will feature a transcendent wrestling star and box-office home run hitter. WWE has to look beyond the obvious to see what worked from Monday night that it can repeat moving forward.

Raw's numbers had long been going in the wrong direction, hitting record lows for much of the second half of 2015. The night after the Royal Rumble, though, officials had reason to celebrate. As Dave Meltzer reported on F4WOnline.com, "The appearance of Dwayne Johnson led Raw to huge numbers last night, averaging 4.09 million viewers over the three hours, up 18 percent from the prior week."

There's no question that whispers of The Great One's possible appearance helped viewership. The same goes for his taking the show over at the midpoint in a long segment. One can't overstate his impact. 

But The Rock is a Band-Aid. WWE isn't going to be able to bring him in on a regular basis. So what else can WWE take away from Monday night's success to better understand the boost in ratings?

The answer lies in the parts AJ Styles, Triple H and WWE Creative played that night.

Anticipation for AJ 

Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net attributed the rise in ratings to "a combination of the Royal Rumble, the new champion, AJ Styles, and some guy named Dwayne Johnson."

That last item is the obvious one. Powell is spot-on about the others, too. 

Styles debuting at the Royal Rumble proved weeks of rumors correct. Suddenly, WWE now boasted the hottest free agent in the business, and not since Sting has there been a bigger star to build their career outside of WWE.

Now that he's in the mix, curiosity and excitement about what was next for him is huge. That had to be especially true for his first-ever appearance on Raw.

Like with The Rock, however, the electricity that Styles' arrival generated can't be relied on moving forward. As Uproxx's Brandon Stroud aptly pointed out, "You can't debut the best wrestler to never compete regularly for WWE and bring back the world's biggest international movie star every week."

With that said, WWE can keep presenting Styles as a main eventer. It can feed on the buzz crackling around him and suddenly have another top-tier star on its roster.

Finding the right rivalries for him is key to that.

High-Stakes Scenario

Vince McMahon, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon all stood in the ring in the opening promo. It's certainly not unusual for The Authority to reign over Raw's early moments, but there was an added narrative element at play that likely enticed fans to stick around.

Stephanie announced that The Authority would decide who would wrestle in the Fastlane main event—a No. 1 contender's match—by the end of the show.

That injected intrigue into the show. Fans knew that a resolution was on its way. And Fastlane's top match would come to light.

As a result of this need to impress the McMahons, all the ensuing matches mattered more. It all tied the show together, too. WWE's execution of that unfolding story was certainly flawed, but it aided Raw.

That's definitely the kind of route the writers can take more often. Beat the Clock challenges, qualifying bouts or tournament matches give added weight to all the action.

Triple H on Top, McMahon Still a Factor

The Game's WWE title win at the Royal Rumble lent itself to anticipation of what's next.

Would Roman Reigns go on a rampage in response to losing the belt? Would the new titleholder find new ways to bring tyranny down on WWE? Not sure what to expect, many fans surely tuned in hoping to see those questions answered.

Mr. McMahon still being a presence on WWE programming certainly made an impact as well.

When McMahon returned to Raw in December, WWE saw a 27 percent jump in viewers, per F4WOnline.com. And when McMahon took center stage weeks later, Raw "did well above its fall season average," as Meltzer pointed out.

This fascination with Triple H and McMahon—key figures from the Attitude Era—is part nostalgia, part a testament to each man's presence. When Brad Maddox was in charge, he wasn't moving the dial like this.

As tired as the Authority storyline has become, this will be inspiration for WWE to keep it going. That's a short-term view of things. Crafting something fresh is the better option. 

Eventually, the thrill of seeing McMahon back in power will fade. WWE needs to find another villain that it can build around for the next decade.

Timing

Some of Raw's improvement on Monday night was simply a product of where the show sat on the calendar.

Monday Night Football is over. The gridiron wasn't providing any competition during the latest show or the past weeks. That alone was helping Raw climb out of its hole.

Brandon Howard of Voices of Wrestling displayed the recent increase in ratings after football stopped competing for the audience's attention:

And consider, too, that editions of Raw that come after major pay-per-views tend to do well. Meltzer reminded us, "Last year's post-Rumble Raw did 4.41 million viewers." 

Monday's Raw benefited from a strong Rumble event.

That's not something WWE can depend on, not until the night after WrestleMania again. It is, though, a good reminder to be patient.

Panic-driven fixes aren't the answer. Taking it on the chin some while working to build new stars is easier to do knowing that the numbers will naturally pick up at their normal high points.

That has to be WWE's top priority. Finding the next Rock would be the most lasting and powerful—and incredibly difficult—solution to the ratings dilemma.