So following the horrendous 2.5 rating WWE received last week, what measures does the company take to improve our overall enjoyment of the show this week? Well, you'll be happy to know, this show opened a lot of eyes and WWE management decided to make things edgy again. The WWE is now TV-14 again, the divas are back to having bikini contest, we have blood and steel chair shots, storylines are blooming, feuds are running amuck, and the main event scene is cooking on all cylinders.

Hahaha! Nah, I'm just messing with ya. However, we did get a return from Vinnie Mac, which is always a pleasure. Let's see how WWE did this week in the numbers.

The October 8th WWE RAW did a 2.80 rating with 4.11 million viewers. Okay, so the show did not necessarily improve all that much in the ratings, but at least it isn't a 2.5. Yeah, it still isn't saying much, but at this point in time the WWE can take anything they can get in terms of an increase in viewership.

We got no numbers for the opening segment, which involved John Cena's return appearance after being gone for a week. He takes shots at the WWE tag team champions, the divas, and of all people, Antonio Cesaro. For some reason, he has an issue with his nipples. Weird. I know. Then he pretty much tried to punk CM Punk [see what I did there] into accepting his challenge for HIAC. Nothing special.

The dancing segment with Brodus Clay and R-Truth lost 241,000 viewers from the opener. This segment is the very definition of the term -- POINTLESS! A complete waste of time and a huge misuse of two very good talents. It deserved to lose viewers and, early on, it does not look like WWE has changed their ways at all.


Vince McMahon's return with CM Punk gained 459,000 viewers for a 3.06 quarter rating. As I said, it is always a pleasure to see Vince McMahon and this segment is a prime example of it. This segment was great! The tension between Vince McMahon and CM Punk was so thin you can cut it with a knife. I'd actually go as far as to say the tension was legit in some ways. I wouldn't be surprised, especially if anyone saw the DVD. Anyways, great segments. Both men delivered and the announcement of the main event got A LOT of people talking. To see how it does in the numbers, keep reading.


Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio vs. Titus O'Neil and Darren Young lost 653,000 viewers. Once again, our newly revamped tag team division does not seem to be doing so well in the ratings. Despite the match being a decent watch, this segment once again lacked the tangible components that fans look for when watching a show. I really do hope tag teams start having INTERVIEWS and backstage segments before their matches to get people to care about them more. Now again, don't take this the wrong way. I, personally, enjoyed this segment because I love wrestling. But, like I said a million times before, you need MORE THAN JUST WRESTLING to keep people interested. This proves it.

Sheamus vs. Wade Barrett at 9pm gained 446,000 viewers for a 2.92 quarter rating. Did anyone else notice that WWE tends to love booking Sheamus at the top of the hours? Maybe it’s a protective measure since they know people usually tune in at the top of the hours, especially around this slot; the usual start time for RAW. Any other place on the card might end up exposing Sheamus and his inability to a lot of viewers. But, putting my opinions aside, I really enjoyed the match and it got a nice number. Wade Barrett shined BRIGHTLY in this match. Hell, I'll even go as far as to say he OUTSHINED our world champion. What is more shocking is that we didn't get the usual "Sheamus-over-come-the-odds" shtick we usually end the matches with. Big Show got one over the world champion following his onslaught of Barrett and an interfering Tensai. Interesting.

A backstage segment with AJ Lee and Punk plus a clip of Cena on Kelly & Michael lost 254,000 viewers. Not much to say about this. Both were pointless and,as a result, lost viewers. Understandable.

Tyson Kidd vs. Antonio Cesaro lost 225,000 more viewers. Yet another VERY GOOD match that just did not hook the fans. WWE seriously needs to start doing things with these characters to make people care about them. Otherwise, Kidd and Cesaro can go out there and perform top quality matches all night long, just like they did on this RAW, and it will do absolutely nothing for fans watching at home. Being a wrestling purest, I really liked this match and hope they have a rematch. Is it too much to ask that we turn this into a feud???

By the way, this match did a 2.59 in the ratings. The lowest of the show. Ouch.

Kane and Daniel Bryanvs. Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio gained 210,000 viewers with a 2.84 quarter. The tag team champions continue to impress inviewership. Very good match with a very good increase in the numbers. Nothing else to say really except -- I'M THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS!

The segment with Larry King, the Miz and Kofi Kingston plus Zack Ryder and Santino Marella vs. Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow together lost 27,000 viewers. I really don't understand why WWE feels the need to FORCE feed us these Class-C celebrities in an attempt to bring more "glitz and glamour" to their product. I like Larry King, but come on! Unless he was going to get super kicked FOR REAL by HBK this time around, he had no reason to be here. But I digress. The interaction between Larry King and The Miz was pretty good, surprisingly. It allowed Miz to get the necessary heat by mocking Larry and his wife and for Kingston to take him down for some nice babyface momentum. So it looks like we're going to have a Kingston vs. Miz feud for the IC title. I'm cool with that. Too bad a few thousand did not care. Oh, and about the tag team match -- yeah I got nothing. It wasn't much at all. Just know that Team Rhodes Scholars won.

Kaitlyn vs. Eve Torres lost 321,000 more viewers. Wait. Hold on. I thought the purpose of the entire diva's storyline was to build up TO THIS MATCH! Now we're going to give it away for free on RAW? WWE really blew their lid on this feud, and honestly, I'm starting to think they have no idea where they want to go with this storyline. "Who attacked Kaitlyn?" might turn into another one of those dragged out, but never answered, storylines that the WWE throws at us from time to time -- like the Anonymous GM. I don’t know. Let's see what happens in the near future. Perhaps we can still a decent blow off if Kaitlyn and Eve don’t touch until Survivor Series. The match was, surprisingly, good. The Heel hook submission by Eve and good display of psychology from Kaitlyn. I like it. Unfortunately, 321,000 did not like it.

Vince McMahon vs. CM Punk in the main event gained 1,233,000 viewers for a 3.46 overrun rating. HOLY RATINGS BATMAN! Look at those numbers. Vinnie Mac does it again! The main event featured our WWE champion taking on the Chairman of the Board and boy was it ever a fight. I had my problems with the fight, but I won't express them here. I will say this match was chaotic! Table bumps, kendo sticks, low blows, and all that nonsense we used to get back in the Attitude Era. A very fun match and it deserved every single viewer it got. Congratulations to Vince McMahon and CM Punk for creating the BIGGEST gain in viewers in years.

So that's it for this week's breakdown. Okay, so what exactly is my problem with the ending to RAW? Well, you'll be surprised it had nothing to do with the match itself, but elements related to CM Punk, Ryback, and John Cena. If you want full details, watch my video of the week. I also do a discussion on CM Punk attacking a fan during the show. Enjoy it:



Thanks for reading. See you next week for more numbers.