— Last night’s 3/25 WWE RAW drew an average audience of 4.61 million viewers. The first hour drew 4.58 million viewers, the second hour drew 4.69 million viewers and the third hour drew 4.58 million viewers.
This was up from last week’s show that drew 4.26 million viewers. It was the highest rated show on cable on Monday night.
The final rating will be out shortly.
— Earlier today, WWE.com announced the following:
In a WWE.com exclusive announcement, Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett will defend his illustrious title against The Miz at WrestleMania, waging war in a battle for pride and glory that could only be settled at The Showcase of the Immortals.
The announcement of the monumental championship contest came on the tail end of The Awesome One’s huge non-title victory over The Barrett Barrage on the March 25 edition of Raw. Not only was it the first time Miz and Barrett squared off one-on-one, but The Miz also actually made The Bare-Knuckle Brawler tap out to the famous Figure-Four Leglock.
The trouble between the two Superstars, however, began when the reigning champion stole a Triple Threat Intercontinental Match victory on the previous week’s Raw, snatching the pinfall away just seconds after The Miz hit the Skull-Crushing Finale on war-torn nine-time Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho.
Then, as Miz was tending to his commentary duties on WWE Main Event, Barrett deliberately flashed the title in his face. This action pushed The Miz to make a statement of his own on SmackDown. After placing a post-match Figure-Four on United States Champion Antonio Cesaro, the determined Superstar glared at Barrett, who was sitting ringside. The Awesome One was clearly serving notice that he was gunning for the Intercontinental Championship gold, a point that rang loud and clear with his non-title triumph.
In addition to the Intercontinental Championship, Miz has held the WWE Championship, as well as the U.S., WWE Tag Team and World Tag Team Titles. Although he is no stranger to championship success, can he overcome the cunning nature of the brutal English champion who has finally made his way to the top of the mountain and has no intention of surrendering the high ground anytime soon?
Find out who walks off The Grandest Stage of Them All with the Intercontinental Championship around their waist, Sunday, April 7 at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT, only on pay-per-view.
