WWE Raw Drops In Key Demographic But Maintains In Total Viewership

"WWE Raw" held up in total viewership in comparison to a week before but lost some ground in the key demographic. Wrestlenomics shared viewership information for October 17 and Monday night's episode had an average of 1,804,000 viewers, only a one percent drop from the week previous.

The 18-49 demographic however experienced a ten-percent drop as it was watched by an average of 648,000 in that age group, totaling a 0.50 P18-49 rating.

Rankings-wise, "Raw" came in fifth in the key demographic among cable originals. For all of broadcast primetime, "Raw" ranked 11th. As expected during NFL season, "Monday Night Football" on ESPN ranked first with a 3.75 P18-49 rating as the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Denver Broncos in what ended up being a nail-biter in overtime. The game ended nearly an hour after "Raw" finished.

Looking back at a year ago, "Raw" is way better off. The October 18, 2021 episode had an average of 1,593,000 viewers, 12 percent less than this past Monday. Despite the drop in the key demographic, the 0.50 P18-49 rating for this past Monday's "Raw" is up 22 percent from the episode one year ago, which had a 0.39 P18-49 rating.

"Raw" did not have the benefit of the star power of The Bloodline or D-Generation-X like the week previous but did have Brock Lesnar return for an opening segment pull-apart brawl with Bobby Lashley. The show also focused on Dexter Lumis taking on The Miz and the possible start of a feud between Seth Rollins and Mustafa Ali. Fans also saw the return of JBL. This time he's in a managerial role for the newly renamed Baron Corbin, who defeated Dolph Ziggler in singles action.