WWE Raw ratings way up with Vince McMahon return

After a fall season where ratings were at an all-time low, the return of Vince McMahon and the Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns title vs. being fired match led to an increase for the Monday, December 14th edition of WWE RAW to 848,000 viewers over last week — a whopping 27 percent.

The show did 3.87 million viewers, but the key is that the first hour did 4.04 million viewers. They were way up early, which has to do with curiosity coming off the post-match attack by Reigns on HHH at the close of the TLC ppv. The announcement that Vince would be there also came in the first 15 minutes of the show, and after more than a year off the show, the return of Vince should have helped.

The second hour, which included McMahon’s first interview, did 3.79 million viewers. The third hour, with the Reigns vs. Sheamus title change, did 3.83 million viewers. Not only did they have far higher viewership to start the show than in months, but they kept most of the viewers for the three hours, which they haven’t been able to do in months.

Last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio show for subscribers has a full rundown and analysis of the show, Vince’s return and Roman Reigns’ WWE World Heavyweight Title win.