RAW made history in a unique way for WWE - Reports
WWE continues to break their own local attendance records. This trend began a year or so ago when Triple H really started improving the company's creative.
This week's RAW episode aired live from the MVP Arena in Albany, New York. The show had a strong line-up advertised ahead of time, which included DIY vs. Imperium in a 2 of 3 Falls Match, The Creed Brothers vs. Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh, plus Seth Rollins defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Jey Uso.
A new report from Fightful Select notes that Monday's RAW from Albany was the highest grossing WWE event in the history of the company running this market. This data comes from internal live events reports, but specifics were not provided.
The MVP Arena has a capacity of 13,785 for arena football games, and that goes as high as 17,500 for other events. However, the setup for this week's RAW was 7,145, according to WrestleTix. As of Monday at around 3:30pm ET, there were 360 available tickets for RAW, which means 6,785 had been distributed.
WWE has ran the MVP Arena four times since 2022. In additon to this week's RAW, the following events were held at the venue formerly known as the Pepsi Arena and Times Union Center: SmackDown on April 22nd, 2022; RAW on November 21st, 2022; RAW on May 29th, 2023.
WWE slammed for keeping CM Punk off RAW
CM Punk returned to RAW last week, just two nights after kicking off his WWE comeback at Survivor Series, but he was not booked this past Monday night. Instead, the former AEW World Champion was announced to make his SmackDown return this coming Friday night.
Punk's absence from RAW was a hot topic on social media, with many fans disappointed over the decision. Speaking on Sportskeeda's Legion of RAW, former WWE head writer Vince Russo blasted the company for keeping The Best In The World off their flagship TV show this week.
"This entire show meant absolutely nothing. You bring back CM Punk last week, and he's not even on the second show, and you remember Chris, there was so much promise with CM Punk and Randy Orton last week, and we get to this week, Orton's on SmackDown and CM Punk isn't even on the show. Bro, what more can you say?" he said.
Fans at the arena in Albany, NY for this week's RAW were also disappointed over Punk's absence. Fans watching RAW next Monday, and attending in Cleveland, will be relieved to know WWE has officially announced Punk for next week's show.
When was the last time you attended a wrestling show live? How do you feel about CM Punk being held off RAW this week? Sound off in the comments section below!