WWE Raw Ratings Fall to 2.28 Million Viewers for 2nd Night of Draft

Monday's edition of Raw averaged 2.28 million viewers, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer.

That represents a slight drop from a week ago, when the show had 2.33 million viewers, per Meltzer. This is also the second straight ratings decline following the show's season premiere Sept. 30, which had 2.57 million viewers on average.

Raw was headlined by the conclusion of the WWE draft, which began last Friday on SmackDown. Meltzer provided further context behind the ratings relative to previous draft shows: "This compares 2.67 million viewers the last time Raw had a draft-type special in April, and 3.62 million viewers for the 2018 version of the shake-up. One can clearly say that Friday ruined whatever drawing power the draft gimmick had left."

Universal champion Seth Rollins was the first pick by Raw, and SmackDown followed by selecting WWE champion Brock Lesnar. Daniel Bryan and Bayley are joining Lesnar on the blue brand, while Aleister Black, the Kabuki Warriors and Samoa Joe are among those now repping the red brand.

The night included another confrontation between Tyson Fury and Braun Strowman as they formally signed the contract for their match at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 31.

Rollins also burned down Bray Wyatt's Firefly Fun House to gain a mental edge ahead of their universal title clash at Crown Jewel.

In general, the momentum generated by Raw's season premiere and SmackDown's move to Fox may be dissipating quickly. SmackDown averaged 3.888 million viewers for its first episode on Fox but then saw 2.899 million viewers tune in last Friday.