WWE Raw Ratings Slip to 1.728M Viewers for Rey Mysterio's Retirement Ceremony

Monday night's episode of WWE Raw on USA Network saw its ratings fall despite several high-profile matches that were advertised ahead of time.

According to Figure Four Online's Bryan Alvarez, Raw averaged 1.728 million viewers during it three-hour broadcast, which was down from last week's 1.735 million.

Raw opened with what Seth Rollins called a retirement ceremony for Rey Mysterio. With Mysterio not there live at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Rollins cut a promo only to be interrupted by Aleister Black, which led to the scheduled match between Rollins and Black.

Rollins had Murphy and Austin Theory in his corner, so Humberto Carrillo came out to lend some support to Black. In the end, Black caught Rollins with a roll-up to win the match, but he paid the price afterward by taking a stomp from The Monday Night Messiah.

Mysterio appeared via satellite later in the night and expressed doubt about his wrestling future, but he didn't officially retire. He was joined by his son, Dominick, who cut a fiery promo and vowed revenge on Rollins for injuring Rey's eye on the steel steps.

Another big match on Monday's show was a champion vs. champion bout with Raw Women's champ Asuka facing NXT Women's titleholder Charlotte Flair. It was a back-and-forth affair, but interference played a role in the finish.

Nia Jax, after beating Kairi Sane earlier in the night, distracted Asuka by mimicking her entrance and wearing her signature face paint. That led to Asuka getting counted out, and Jax took advantage of the situation by attacking her.

The main event of the night was WWE champion Drew McIntyre vs. MVP, who has taken on the role of Bobby Lashley's manager in recent weeks. The match was significant since McIntyre is scheduled to face Lashley at Backlash.

McIntyre won with a Claymore, but Lashley took advantage by locking Drew in a Claymore afterward, which is how Raw went off the air.

Other key moments included Kevin Owens and Apollo Crews fighting to a no contest in a United States Championship match due to interference from Andrade and Angel Garza, The Viking Raiders edging The Street Profits in bowling, R-Truth beating Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski for the 24/7 Championship and Randy Orton cutting a strong promo about Edge ahead of their Backlash match.

Next week's Raw promises to be a big one, as it will be the go-home episode prior to the June 14 Backlash pay-per-view.

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