A heavily-hyped return from The Rock and an unannounced appearance from Shawn Michaels helped WWE RAW reverse its ratings downturn.
Thanks in large part to a massive second hour, RAW posted a 3.8 cable coverage rating with a strong 2.3 adults 18-49 rating.
Held down a bit by an opening hour that could best be described as “decent,” the episode ended up averaging a healthy 6.231 million viewers for the final 79 minutes (hour two and overrun). That performance, one of the best hourly numbers in a while, helped produce an overall viewership average of 5.892 million.
According to USA Network’s research Twitter (TedonTV), the show’s 18-49 viewership was its best since April 2007. Total viewership was at its highest level since June 2009.
Quarterly breakdowns were not yet available, but one would assume that the overrun segment with The Rock, John Cena and The Miz did significant business.