CM Punk made his first appearance on “WWE Raw” in nearly a decade on Monday night, with many wondering how the controversial performer and commercial-free first hour would impact the ratings. Additionally, Randy Orton wrestled for the first time since May 2022. The results are now in, with Wrestling economy An average of 1,884,000 viewers and a 0.65 rating in the 18-49 demographic were reported for Monday’s episode. This was the highest overall rating since Raw following WWE SummerSlam on August 7. Additionally, Monday’s show brought the highest demo since April 3, the day after WWE WrestleMania.
Compared to last week, “Raw” saw a 29% increase in overall viewership and a 34% increase in the 18-49 demo. Breaking down the demographics further, the show had an average of 648,000 male viewers ages 18-49 and 214,000 female viewers in the same age range.
As for the quarter hour show (Also via Wrestlenomics), the audience for the opening segment peaked at 2,058,000 viewers on average and a 0.73 demo. The first 15 minutes saw a promo for Orton’s return, with Rhea Ripley also appearing. It is not unusual for a “Raw” show to peak early, as the opening minutes usually attract the largest number of viewers. However, the episode retained viewers well and saw increases in live promos from Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins and Punk. The final quarter-hour saw a total of 1,768,000 viewers in average and a 0.66 in the demo.
The company has already touted the fact that Punk’s return video at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames is the highest-performing social media video of all time, and The return of “Raw” Punk. Numbers are delivered as well. This video currently has over 2,120,000 views after just 36 hours.
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