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WWE’s highly anticipated Monday Night RAW debut on Netflix earlier this week delivered a rating that will make executives very happy.

In a new statement, the WWE announced that 2.6 million viewers either tuned in live or watched RAW within a 24-hour period, according to the ratings’ analyst firm VideoAmp. That number is a 116 percent increase from any RAW episode on the USA Network in 2024, and is the highest-rated one in the past five years. Internationally, over 4.9 million viewers tuned in. 

Perhaps most impressive, the program doubled previous ratings in the all-important 18-49 demographic. 

THE ROCK, HULK HOGAN, JOHN CENA ALL RETURNED 

This past Monday, the WWE and Netflix officially launched their massive 10-year, $5 billion partnership that would allow the streaming service to have exclusive rights to the weekly Monday night wrestling program leading into what will eventually be branded as the new WWE Network, once the current deal with NBC Peacock expires at the end of this year.

As I wrote about here, the reactions of the first RAW were mixed. From a production standpoint, things looked and felt BIG, as Netflix flexed its muscles and big budget to make the RAW debut a historically significant one.

However, from a storyline perspective, wrestling fans felt that the show itself was not the greatest, with The Rock delivering a very awkward and almost infuriating wrestling promo in which he broke “kayfabe” – the idea of wrestling being real, when he openly congratulated and even hugged the same wrestlers he has been feuding with throughout the past year. For wrestling fans, breaking “lore” or “the covet,” is a big no-no.

There was also the awkward moment when the Los Angeles liberal-leaning crowd began booing and drowning out Hulk Hogan, who recently campaigned and endorsed President-elect Trump. Hogan was reportedly infuriated afterwards and questions remain about how the WWE will use him in the future based on the unexpected reaction. 

Personally, I think it’s going to be interesting to see the number of live viewers for this Monday’s episode, now that the launch theatrics have passed. I expect a drop-off of the 2.6 million, but will viewers just tune in later and fast-forward through commercials or skip to their favorite matches? We shall see.

WERE YOU A FAN OF WWE’S NETFLIX DEBUT? TWEET ME WHAT YOU LIKED, WHAT YOU HATED: @TheGunzShow