John Cena, along with a talented lineup, brought a surge of excitement back to WWE at Madison Square Garden, leading to a significant boost in viewership for last week’s Raw episode on November 17. According to Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, this episode marked the highest-rated Raw on Netflix in recent months, surpassing the previous Boston show by about 11% and exceeding typical viewership numbers by 29%.
This uptick in ratings is a positive sign amid WWE’s recent struggles with audience numbers, with Raw generally performing better than SmackDown, which experienced some very low ratings last month, especially during its Halloween episode. Netflix revealed that the November 17 episode garnered 3.1 million global views, ranking it 6th worldwide and 3rd in the U.S. It also outperformed the November 10 Boston episode, which had 2.8 million views, ranking 7th globally and 3rd in the U.S., as well as the November 3 episode with 2.4 million views, ranking 9th worldwide and 6th in the U.S. This boost in ratings is one of the few positives emerging from Cena’s retirement and has helped revive interest in WWE programming.
During the show, Cena teamed up with Rey Mysterio and Sheamus to defeat Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor, and JD McDonagh. Nikki Bella, after turning heel last week, attacked Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquel and challenged her to a match scheduled for Survivor Series: War Games. Former WWE star Dolph Ziggler returned for the Last Time Is Now tournament but was defeated by Solo Chicoa in the first round. A major moment was Maxine Dupri beating Becky Lynch to claim the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, with AJ Lee making a surprise return. Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar also came back, setting up their match for the Men’s WarGames. In the tournament’s quarterfinals, Gunther defeated NXT’s Jevon Evans and later beat Carmelo Hayes, advancing closer to a December 13 bout with Cena.
Fan Take: This resurgence in WWE viewership highlights the power of star presence and compelling storylines to reignite fan passion. Cena’s farewell and the exciting tournament matches could herald a new era of competitive and engaging WWE programming, important for maintaining the sport’s relevance and appeal.
