Raw performs well, despite Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey not appearing

Originally published at https://www.postwrestling.com/2018/03/13/raw-performs-well-despite-brock-lesnar-and-ronda-rousey-not-appearing/

Despite not delivering on the advertised appearances of Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey, Monday’s episode of Raw did a strong number with an average audience of 3,350,000 viewers on the USA Network.

It was the third highest number of 2018, trailing the massive 25th Anniversary show and the night after the Royal Rumble.

The show started with 3,351,000 viewers for the first hour and then grew to 3,429,000 viewers in the second hour. They only experienced a 4.5% drop in the third hour with 3,275,000 viewers watching the final hour, which was their second-best performance in the third hour in 2018 (trailing the 25th Anniversary show).

The third hour led up to the show-closing battle royal and the tease that Braun Strowman would be involved, which led to him entering and winning the battle royal to set up a tag title opportunity for Strowman at WrestleMania.

They’re riding that Wrestlemania buildup ratings wave. It will be interesting to see how the Ultimate Deletion does ratings wise next week.