Here’s How Johnny Gargano Return Affected WWE Raw Viewership

Published: Aug 23, 2022 by Amanda Savage | Last Updated: Aug 23, 2022 by Amanda Savage

Based in Seattle, Amanda has been writing about professional wrestling for over four years for WrestleTalk.com. Focusing on breaking news, live show coverage and news informed features about WWE, NXT, AEW and TNA Wrestling, Amanda has nearly 9,000 published pieces to date.
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Now that the ratings figures have been revealed, here’s how Johnny Gargano and his surprise return to WWE Raw affected viewership.

The unannounced and largely secret return of Johnny Gargano on last night’s WWE Raw (August 22) came as a surprise to fans watching.

So did the return of Johnny Wrestling move the needle in terms of viewership for WWE Raw?

From Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics on Twitter:

“The quarter-hour with Johnny Gargano’s return to WWE (10:15pm) slightly grew the P18-49 audience in a quarter that usually loses. 10pm (usually the lowest hour) averaged 0.55 in P18-49, which is higher than 8pm’s 0.53.”

WWE Raw last night garnered the attention of 2,005,000 viewers while also securing the number two spot amongst all cable originals in the target demographic.

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That coveted target demographic for advertisers being people ages 18 through 49, which saw a 0.55 rating for WWE Raw this week.

Dave Meltzer also weighed in on the viewership data, saying on Twitter:

“Raw did 2.01 million viewers/0.55 last night. Huge numbers again, although second to NFL preseason on cable.”

With renewed excitement surrounding WWE with Triple H taking over creative duties from a recently retired Vince McMahon, viewership continues to see positive trends.

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To compare to last week, this week’s 2.005 million viewers and 0.55 rating in 18-49 are both up from 1.978 million and 0.53.

However the next threat lurking in the shadows behind Triple H’s new version of WWE Raw – the NFL and the American cultural staple, Monday Night Football, with regular season set to start on September 1, 2022.

A full breakdown of this year’s Raw viewership numbers can be found at this link.

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