“Monday Night Raw” Viewership Takes Big Hit Following “TLC”

The “Road to WrestleMania” officially kicked off on the Dec. 15 showing of “Monday Night Raw,” the first showing of WWE programming leading up to the 2015 “Royal Rumble.” It occurred the night after the 2014 “TLC” pay-per-view, which many WWE fans have taken issue with.

This edition of “Raw” featured the return of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar from a three month absence, in addition to the return of Chris Jericho. “Y2J” served as the special guest general manager for the night, and would be Lesnar’s first victim upon his return. Despite these returns, viewership for “Monday Night Raw” was very poor, as it averaged 3.511 million viewers. The figure is down just under 200,000 viewers from the previous week.

Below is the hourly viewership breakdown of the Dec. 15 “Monday Night Raw,” courtesy of TVByTheNumbers.com:

Hour 1: 3.703 million viewers

Hour 2: 3.477 million viewers

Hour 3: 3.385 million viewers

Viewership decreased throughout the entire night, and was at its peak during an hour that did not feature WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. Overall, “Monday Night Raw” finished third in regards to ratings for the night’s cable television programs. It would receive a 1.1 rating for adults aged 19-49, also down from the past week.

Editor’s Note

“I guess Chris Jericho no longer draws,” says Vince McMahon with his forefinger and middle finger on his wrist.