WWE News: Solid viewership for RAW, despite stiff competition
What's the story?
Traditionally, NFL season has butchered WWE viewership. However, WWE decided to counter the same with a packed episode of RAW this week, most notably with John Cena facing Braun Strowman.
In doing so, even though there was a small decrease in viewership, it was still a solid number when compared to last year's figures. We bring you an analysis, courtesy figures obtained from No DQ.
In case you didn't know...
NFL season began on 7th September, and WWE responded with a pay-per-view worthy match with two of their biggest stars, John Cena and Braun Strowman.
Another highlight of the episode was Roman Reigns taking on Jason Jordan, at the top of the show. These massive matches helped WWE gain a solid foothold against two big NFL games.
The heart of the matter
Last week, RAW did 2.932 million viewers, falling below the 3 million mark after weeks. This week, there was a slight decline as RAW only managed 2.903 million viewers overall. This is a solid number, as this was the first week of Monday Night Football.
To put things in perspective, viewership for the first week of RAW during Football Season last year was only 2.690 million viewers. Let's hope that WWE keeps this momentum going, and takes their competition head on.
What's next?
This is only the beginning, and we wonder if WWE will be able to keep the momentum going for the weeks that follow.
After all, there is a limit to first-time matches. WWE has pooled in all their resources to make No Mercy appear like a big deal, and that's very heartening.
Author's take
The weekly television shows feel a lot stronger than usual these days, and that's always good news for fans like me. WWE has been known to surrender in the face of competition, and I'm glad that's not the case anymore.
Pull up your socks, WWE, and show 'no mercy'!