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WWE Raw Ratings Sink to Historically Low 1.68M Viewers Ahead of MITB PPV
May 5, 2020
Raw averaged 1.686 million viewers for the go-home edition before the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on Sunday, according to Figure Four Online's Bryan Alvarez.
WWE is one of the media outlets providing live content during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that has done little to boost the ratings for Raw. Tuesday's news continues what has been a concerning trend.
The promotion's flagship show averaged 1.842 million viewers on April 20, which was its lowest non-holiday rating ever. Things didn't get better a week later, as the April 27 edition garnered 1.817 million viewers.
Raw featured a gauntlet match Monday to determine the final participant in the men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match after Apollo Crews was forced to withdraw because of an injury.
AJ Styles made his first appearance since losing the Boneyard match to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 36 on April 4. The Phenomenal One forced Humberto Carrillo to tap out in the Calf Crusher to be the last man standing and claim the final MITB spot.
While it didn't carry the same kind of implications for the PPV, Raw's main event had some Money in the Bank flavor as WWE champion Drew McIntyre battled Murphy. McIntyre's challenger for the belt Sunday, Seth Rollins, watched from the entrance ramp.
Although McIntyre was victorious, Rollins spoiled his post-match celebration with a devastating superkick.
Elsewhere on Raw in the tag team division, Shane Thorne and Brendan Vink defeated Ricochet and Cedric Alexander, while The Street Profits fell to the Viking Raiders.
Liv Morgan opposed NXT women's champion Charlotte Flair in a non-title bout. Morgan put up a good fight but was unable to topple The Queen.
This time next week, Raw could have a new world champion. Even assuming McIntyre is successful in defending the WWE belt, he might have to watch his back at all times should a Raw Superstar collect the MITB briefcase.