Though Monday Night Football is over, Monday’s WWE RAW still had to deal with heavy competition from the Fiesta Bowl, as well as the return of CBS’ comedy lineup. There was no reason to expect a big ratings performance.
Sure enough, the show did not hit a ratings home run, averaging a 1.7 adults 18-49 rating with 4.43 million viewers. The cable coverage rating was a 3.1.
What was intriguing, however, was the actual quarter hour performance for Chris Jericho’s return segment. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, the show’s viewership average actually slightly trailed that of the prior segment, meaning there was a net viewer tune-out for the segment.
While a tune-out is not shocking for that particular quarter hour–it virtually never contains a priority segment–it is noteworthy that intrigue in the return could not buck the trend. Of further note is the fact that the segment actually aired during half-time of the Fiesta Bowl game, so it theoretically should have represented WWE’s best chance to put up a big quarter hour number Monday night.