WWE’s ratings nightmare since Labor Day and the start of the NFL season continues.
After Raw ratings plummeted to record lows in September and its audience shrank even further last week, WWE’s flagship show has officially tied its lowest ratings number in 18 years.
According to the Torch, Monday’s episode of Raw — featuring appearances from WWE legends Stone Cold Steve Austin, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels, not to mention a show opening featuring Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker — popped a 2.21 rating. That number matches a 2012 Christmas Eve episode for the lowest Raw rating since the mid-’90s.
The episode was up against a huge Monday Night Football that featured not only big-market teams in Philadelphia and New York, but the debut of the new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The episode featured three six-man tag team matches and the tease of a Shield reunion in its main-event.
The show started off strong with 3.6 million viewers in the first hour, but fell to 3.3 million in hour two and way down to 3.1 million in hour three. That’s a 13.3 percent drop from hour one to three, and the biggest 1-3 drop since the ratings slide began.
The good news: There aren’t any more Star Wars trailers. At least not for this one.
