September 18, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Raw/Nitro ratings war, NJPW vs. AJPW, more

In what was the most significant, and closest Monday night ratings race so far this year, a heavily criticized edition of Nitro on 9/11 scored the highest rating for the show in its regular opposed format since 1/10 and the closest margin between the two shows since 12/20.

Nitro finished with a 3.20 rating (3.47 first hour; 2.93 second hour) and a 4.8 share. Raw did a 5.90 rating (5.36 first hour; 6.38 second hour) and an 8.9 share.

Whether it was the return of Ric Flair, the wedding angle, the WWF being hurt badly by pre-emptions the past two weeks, or an overall positive trend for the company, doing a number like that, particularly with football competition thrown in, was from a pure ratings standpoint, the most impressive number the company has done all year. What was ironic is that it came on the same night where in Charlotte, all those same factors drew 1,657 paid, most of whom purchased tickets in the past week when it was clear Flair would return for the show, and even with that announced, that number for Flair’s return is Charlotte speaks volumes.

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