WWE Raw Ratings Increase with Randy Orton vs. Big Show, Extreme Rules Fallout

While many fans were disappointed with the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, it created enough momentum and intrigue to get the WWE a bump in the ratings. 

Just not in the key demographic. 

The July 20 edition of Raw drew in 1.628 million total viewers and an 0.46 rating in the demographic, with the overall number being up from last week (1.561 million viewers) and the demo being down from 0.48. WWE has been bleeding ratings throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, setting record-low numbers in the overall and demographic.

For those disappointed about the lack of quality in-ring action at Extreme Rules, Raw aimed to make up for that. There were seven actual wrestling matches Monday night, and while not all of them were classics, it was clearly a better show than WWE put on a night prior.

The Seth Rollins-Aleister Black opener was a show highlight, regardless of how you felt about the "Eye for an Eye" match Rollins had a night prior with Rey Mysterio. The match featured smart in-ring psychology with Rollins working Black's arm and finished relatively cleanly with a Monday Night Messiah victory. Rollins and Murphy then continued an attack on Black's arm after the match, one that could set up a feud heading into SummerSlam.

The main event featured what should be the end of a heel's feud, with Randy Orton continuing his Legend Killer redux by taking out the Big Show in an unsanctioned match. Orton's feud with Show took a little bit of the wind out of his sails because it wasn't as captivating as his attacks on Edge and Christian, but hopefully putting the giant to bed will help set up a marquee program over the next month.

In other news, Sasha Banks is not your Raw women's champion—at least not yet. Banks and Asuka will have a rematch for the championship next week, and the title can change hands for any reason, including disqualification and count-out.

Dolph Ziggler will also be getting a rematch for the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre, this time with the champ getting to choose the stipulation. Here's to hoping the rematch takes place before SummerSlam because McIntyre deserves better than what would amount to a midcard title defense at the pay-per-view.