The premiere of “WWE Tough Enough” and the annual “Hall of Fame” special performed nearly identically as Monday Night RAW’s bookends this week.
The USA reality series posted what looks to be a 1.5 adults 18-49 rating with 3.33 million viewers after the post-WrestleMania edition of RAW. While retention was not groundbreaking (the latter 76 minutes of RAW averaged a 2.3 rating with 5.781 million viewers), the performance is very impressive for a series launch after 11PM. That adults 18-49 performance ranks favorably against many cable reality series.
How the show will do when it becomes a lead-in to RAW remains to be seen, but this year’s Hall of Fame special, which aired in that timeslot, provides some optimism. The Monday airing averaged a 1.3 adults 18-49 rating with 3.36 million viewers.