A WrestleMania season of modest Monday night ratings came to a close in consistent fashion Monday, as both the “Once in a Lifetime” special and the “go-home” edition of WWE RAW failed to set the world on fire.
Standards could not have been too high for the Rock-Cena countdown special, given its adherence to a format that does not typically draw massive numbers. With a 0.8 rating and 2.1 million viewers, it likely did not “wow” any industry executives Monday and certainly did not convince potential viewers it was a de facto “third hour” of RAW, but it pulled a reasonable audience given the situation.
RAW, meanwhile, attracted a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating and 4.4 million viewers. Though not the worst mark RAW has put up this season, it also does not reflect an abundance of excitement in the weekly television product ahead of WrestleMania.
Historical evidence shows that the correlation between television ratings and pay-per-view buyrates is not exact, and given the significance of Rock vs. Cena, there is no reason to fear it will do a disappointing number.
At the same time, no matter the number it does, the disappointing ratings pattern throughout the “Road to WrestleMania” indicates that whatever mainstream excitement exists in Sunday’s pay-per-view did not likely yield an abundance of new, regular wrestling fans to watch the programming on a weekly basis.