WWE Raw ratings drop a bit, third hour holds better than usual

Raw fell four percent from last week’s 3.10 million viewers to 2.98 million.

There’s no real explanation, as Raw’s number in theory shouldn’t have increased coming off a SmackDown brand show. The number is better than the show has been doing in months, but it should be up with the drop in competition with a lot of network reruns and no major sports.

Raw was second for the night on cable, trailing Hannity on Fox News at 3.01 million viewers.

The third hour, built around a long women’s gauntlet match, held up better than usual, with hour three staying even in the 18-34 demo, although it did fall with viewers over the age of 35 and particularly with women.

SmackDown, with a women’s Money in the Bank match and a full card advertised, should do a strong number tonight, at least in theory. If it drops from last week, it would be a sign that the Raw rating has a great effect on how SmackDown the next night does.

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 2.89 million viewers
9 p.m. 3.09 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.95 million viewers