Dave Meltzer Explains WWE Raw Record Low

WWE Raw struggled to generate much of an audience at all for Raw on Christmas Day but Dave Meltzer explains why it doesn’t matter in the least.

On Christmas Day, WWE aired a “Best of 2023” edition of Monday Night Raw, offering fans a look at some of the top matches of the last year rather than airing a regular version of the show.

WWE Raw suffered a record-low rating as a result, only managing to attract an average viewership of 698,000 and a 0.18 rating in the 18-49 demo. That itself was down from the previous year’s “Best of 2022” show which achieved an average of 1,047,000 viewers and an 18-49 rating of 0.27.

WWE Raw Record Low Rating Irrelevant

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained why the Raw rating tanked and why it doesn’t matter in the slightest given the kind of show it was:

As far as the Raw number, you can throw that number out, it means nothing. People weren’t gonna watch – even with no football – you’re still gonna be limited for the people who are gonna watch, in this day and age, matches from months ago. It’s a different era. There were eras where something like this would outdraw a regular show, this is not that era.

The fact you could see Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley have one of the best matches of the year on free television that only aired at WrestleMania, in another era that would be big drawing television, in this era you get great matches several nights a week, seeing a great match from months ago isn’t it.

The Raw rating might well be an anomaly but it does open the door for AEW Dynamite to beat WWE’s flagship show in total viewership for the first time. The New Year’s Smash edition of AEW Dynamite ended with a huge title change.

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