It’s a brand new We’re Live, Pal! as Andrew Zarian and I talk about the latest topics in pro wrestling.
We discussed Tony Khan’s announcement that he’s bringing AEW to London, but in a stadium rather than an arena. We wonder how many fans will buy tickets to the show at Wembley Stadium, and talk the big bets the AEW owner is making throughout the summer.
We talked about the recent WWE and SmackDown ratings as well as Raw being limited because of talent having travel issues. We take a look at an excellent Cody Rhodes promo and wonder what it means for the big picture.
You can watch the show above or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts in addition to the link below.
Dave Meltzer and I are back on Wrestling Observer Radio to talk about the major stories in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at his Q4 analysis on WWE and AEW business. We also talk about WarnerMedia’s reaction to WWE’s quote in the Toronto Star article. We discuss AEW Dynamite’s rating from Wednesday.
Then we preview the top two matches at UFC 270 before looking at The Wrld On GCW PPV this Sunday.
For what is traditionally the second or third highest rated Raw of the year, Monday’s post-Royal Rumble episode averaged 2.703 million viewers, up nine percent from last week. That’s actually down from two weeks ago, however, as the January 14 Raw averaged 2.722 million viewers.
This week’s Raw was down exactly 20 percent from last year’s post-Rumble episode, consistent with the numbers of late.
Raw did not have the show-long ratings erosion that recent weeks have had — as the third hour held up better with Seth Rollins deciding which title he was going to challenge for at WrestleMania and a Ronda Rousey title defense promoted over the first two hours.
Raw finished fifth for the night in total viewers on cable but did top the 18-49 demo with an average rating of 0.95.
Here are the hourly numbers:
Hour one: 2.816 million viewers (1.00 rating in 18-49 demo)
The latest “New Era” beginning and very strong Raw show saw the audience increase to 3.33 million viewers, up seven percent from last week.
The show was built around two four-way matches with the winners meeting in the main event, Finn Balor over Roman Reigns, with the winner facing Seth Rollins to create the first WWE Universal champion at SummerSlam, as well as the Sasha Banks women’s title win over Charlotte.
The ratings usually increase the day after a PPV show and this would be in the usual range. The number was down from the 3.47 million viewers the day after Money in the Bank, the most recent PPV show, so the number in and of itself is not usually large for a day after PPV show.
There was far more competition than usual on cable due to the Democratic National Convention. Raw finished in 12th place for the night on cable, which may be its lowest showing of the year. With the exception of Rizzoli & Isles and Major Crimes on TNT, all the other programming that beat Raw would have been convention coverage on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
The audience was strongest in the first hour, which isn’t usually the case in the summer, but that has to do with curiosity of people who didn’t watch the PPV. But the second and third hour drops weren’t major.
They are pushing a Raw vs. SmackDown ratings theme and it would be a huge surprise if the SmackDown rating this week came close to Raw number. If it does, that would indicate stronger curiosity toward the brand split. Any number stronger than 2.7 million tonight should be considered a success.
The three hours from last night were:
8 p.m. 3.41 million 9 p.m. 3.35 million 10 p.m. 3.25 million
