WWE Raw Ratings Fall To Lowest Viewership Total Since January
Despite having some interesting matches and promising build towards Payback in September, the August 21st edition of RAW saw a massive dip in viewers.
According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, the August 21st RAW concluded with a viewership of only 1.591 million viewers. By comparison, the prior week’s episode had a viewership of 1.757 million.
The episode was defined by a show-long storyline involving more bickering and strife among members of the Judgment Day, who couldn’t seem to come to a consensus on who would face Sami Zayn and the returning Kevin Owens in the main-event, and whether Damian Priest and Finn Balor were still on the same side.
The show also featured a video from Shinsuke Nakamura explaining why he attacked Seth Rollins, GUNTHER retaining his Intercontinental title against Chad Gable, and two matches being added to WWE Payback: Rollins versus Nakamura and Rhea Ripley versus Raquel Rodriguez.
WWE RAW’s rating tip to second-lowest point of 2023
While there was a noticeable drop in viewers compared to last week’s RAW, the August 21st episode wasn’t the worst of the year. That honor goes to the January 16th episode, which only drew in 1.489 million viewers.
Despite this noticeable drop, RAW’s ratings have been somewhat steady over the past few years. According to a Fightful resource that has been tracking RAW’s weekly ratings since 2019, the show has remained in the 1.5 million – 1.8 million range since the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
And while these numbers pale in comparison with pre-2020 numbers that were well above the 2 million viewer mark, WWE doesn’t appear to be anywhere near at risk of losing any major TV deals anytime soon.