WWE enjoyed an increase in viewership for Monday Night Raw in the final weeks of 2020 plus the start of 2021. In recent weeks, however, the numbers have been up and down.
According to Showbuzz Daily (h/t Marc Middleton of WrestlingInc.com), this week's show averaged just 1.715 million viewers on USA Network. That's a noticeable drop from last week's episode that drew 1.892 million viewers.
Per Middleton, this week's show also marked Raw 's lowest viewership since the Dec. 21 show (1.691 million). Every other Raw episode of 2021 reached the 1.8 million viewership mark.
This also marked the second time in three weeks where the viewership on Raw declined. Per WrestlingInc.com's viewership tracker, the Jan. 25 and Feb. 1 shows averaged 1.820 million and 1.892 million viewers, respectively.
The Jan. 4 "Legends Night" show stands as the most-watched Raw episode in the young year, having reached 2.128 million viewers. Shows that feature the returns of legends usually perform very well, and it was always going to be a challenge for WWE to reach similar viewership in the following weeks.
While Raw continues to draw under two million viewers, SmackDown Live is consistently reaching that mark on FOX. Clearly, some drastic changes are needed on WWE's flagship programming.
Vince McMahon removed Paul Heyman from his role as the Raw Executive Director last year, replacing him with Bruce Prichard. Though one may argue that the overall television product has improved under Prichard's leadership, his changes haven't been enough to help the numbers.
It'll be interesting to see what WWE does next as they try to fix the ratings over the long run.
WrestleMania Season Should Help Here
WrestleMania is only two months away, and it's the most exciting time in WWE. As the company builds towards the "Show of Shows", one can only assume that the viewership will increase. WWE has lots of time to build up its WrestleMania 37 matches, so if the ratings don't pick up in the next month and a half or so, there will be cause for concern.
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