Earlier this week, WWE announced more than 20 legends will appear on the Jan. 4 edition of Monday Night Raw.
The list of returning legends includes Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Big Show, Carlito, Mark Henry, Kurt Angle, Booker T, The Big Show, Melina, Mickie James, Boogeyman, Jimmy Hart, Alicia Fox, Candice Michelle, Jeff Jarrett, Ivory, IRS, Hillbilly Jim, Michael PS Hayes, Tatanka, Jacqueline, Sgt. Slaughter, Beth Phoenix, Torrie Wilson and Jeff Jarrett.
It will be an exciting way to kick off the first 2021 episode of Monday Night Raw, to say the least. And Vince McMahon has a good reason for running the special event.
A WWE creative team member told Ringside News that McMahon is hoping that the returns of these legends will help increase the ratings. The creative team member noted that they lead to an "annual ratings boost, after all.
They also told Ringside News that" the creative process in this company has fallen completely apart." Apparently, there's not much of a plan on how to fix the ratings.
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The July 22, 2019 "Raw Reunion" episode featured appearances from many legends. That episode averaged an impressive number of 3.093 million viewers, so McMahon has good reason to believe that they'll see a massive boost for the Jan. 4 episode. Fans will simply never get tired of seeing their favorite legends back on television.
Last week's episode of Raw averaged just 1.527 million viewers, the lowest in the show's 27-year history. However, they bounced back this week with an average of 1.691 million viewers.
Smart Move By McMahon
WWE has to do something to fix the ratings, and quickly. McMahon's decision to bring back more than 20 legends should definitely lead to stronger viewership on Jan. 4. It's a thrilling way to kick off the new year, and they can only hope that it will begin the trend of increased viewership in 2021.