Steve Austin’s heavily-hyped return appearance on Monday’s RAW kept the show’s ratings hot, propelling the weekly wrestling telecast to its third consecutive strong rating.
WWE has used interest in appearances from veteran wrestlers like Austin and The Rock to keep the ratings hot ahead of WrestleMania 27. This week’s ratings consequence of the strategy was a strong 3.92 cable coverage rating, marking an improvement from last week’s 3.82.
The show scored a healthy 2.2 adults 18-49 rating Monday, dominating the rest of cable in the coveted demographic. Viewership clocked in at an average of 5.78 million.
The performance was fairly steady over the course of the 132-minute telecast; though viewership was slightly higher in hour one, the young adult number improved a bit for the second hour.