Many fans didn’t have high expectations for Wrestlemania 31, but the PPV turned out to be one of the best in recent memory and fans flocked to RAW the next night to see what the fallout would be.
That led to WWE Raw‘s highest rating in 3 years according to Variety.com:
On the heels of Sunday night’s Wrestlemania 31, where Seth Rollins won his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the big draw for audiences on Monday was Brock Lesnar challenging Rollins to a rematch. Also, U.S. champion John Cena defended his title against Dean Ambrose.
According to Nielsen, an average audience of 5.4 million (including 2.4 million adults 18-49) watched from 8 to 11 p.m., making USA the No. 1 cable network during primetime in both categories. Week to week, “WWE Raw” was up by 27% in adults 18-49, 24% in adults 25-54 and 28% in total viewers.
The 5.4 million viewers is the largest for a night of USA’s “WWE Monday Night Raw” since the “Raw 1000″ special in July 2012.
With its three-hour “WWE Raw,” USA also rose to No. 1 among cable networks in primetime in adults 18-49 (1.9) and was No. 1 on all of television from 8 to 11 p.m. in adults 18-34 (1.8), men 18-34 (2.5), men 18-49 (2.5) and men 25-54 (2.7).
WWE fans shouldn’t be shocked by these numbers. There was a lot left hanging in the air after Mania and everyone knew Brock would be on a rampage after losing the title. The WWE got exactly what they wanted, our undivided attention.