Average Rating per Raw Champion

[Shocky]

So going threw the history of Raw, I came up with the Average TV rating that the champion had during their tenure as the man at top. Decide for yourself who the biggest draw is. Just something interesting to start a shit storm i'm sure. The History Starts with the first Episode of the Monday Night War, which was Sept, 4 1995. I think a lot of people will be shocked at who the biggest draw is.

Diesel 2.41
Bret Hart (3) 2.73
Shawn Michaels (1) 2.61
Sid (1) 2.24

Raw goes to two hours during HBK's 2nd title reign
Shawn Michaels (2) 2.33
Bret Hart (4) 2.1
Sid (2) 2.28
Undertaker (2) 2.74
Bret Hart (5) 2.65
Shawn Michaels (3) 3.33
Steve Austin (1) 4.60
Kane (1) 5.4
Steve Austin (2) 4.49
Vacant: 4.66
The Rock (1) 5.13
Mankind (1) 5.55
The Rock (2) 5.5
Mankind (2) 5.9

Raw goes live each week.
The Rock (3) 6.08
Steve Austin (3) 6.45
The Undertaker (3) 6.68
Steve Austin (4) 6.35
Mankind (3) 5.9
Triple H (1) 4.87
Vince McMahon (1) 6.1
Triple H (2) 5.87
Big Show (1) 6.05
Triple H (3) 6.30
The Rock (4) 6.57
Triple H (4) 6.4

Raw switches to TNN/Spike TV during the middle of Rocks' title reign
The Rock (5) 5.68
Kurt Angle (1) 5.00
The Rock (6) 4.76
Steve Austin (5) 4.84
Kurt Angle (2) 4.47
Steve Austin (6) 4.18

Undisputed Championship (Title could disappear for a month while champ was on smack down)
Chris Jericho (1) 4.29
Triple H (5) 5.02
Hulk Hogan (6) 4.43
The Undertaker (4) 3.82
The Rock (7) 3.92
Brock Lesnar (1) 3.9

World Heavyweight Championship
Triple H (1) 3.54
Shawn Michaels (1) 3.43
Triple H (2) 3.92
Goldberg (1) 3.58
Triple H (3) 3.7
Chris Benoit (1) 3.84
Randy Orton (1) 3.55
Triple H (4) 3.6
Vacant 3.46
Triple H (5) 3.89
Batista (1) 3.99

Both WWE and WHC on Raw
Batista (1) and Cena (1) 4.0

WWE Championship/ Raw switches back to USA during Cena's title reign.
John Cena (1) 3.73
Edge (1) 4.37
John Cena (2) 4.07
Rob Van Dam (1) 4.05
Edge (2) 3.87
John Cena (3) 3.77

 

[X]

Did you see how high the ratings went up on that one night on Raw that Kane was champ? Can't really be credited to Kane though, as every single person was tuning in because everyone was sure that Austin was going to get a rematch and win the title back, which he did.

So the highest ratings in Raw history came during Undertaker's reign as champ in May-July 1999, that makes perfect sense. God I miss those days so much, 1999 was literally the greatest year in WWF history, it was just the absolute bombo shit and every PPV was a damn classic with classic feuds awesome matches and just this great air of nostalgia for me personally, as that was the time I was super super super most into wrestling probably as a kid. Great times.

I can't believe Bret Hart got the lowest though then again that was during the Monday Night Wars when Raw was a crap product and was getting it's ass kicked week in and week out by Nitro.

 

[figure4]

Wow, I learned a couple of things from this.

For one, when the Attitude era ended, so did the massive ratings.

Undertaker should not have gone title-less from 1992-1996.

The 'great' technical wrestler's reigns averaged lower ratings than those who are not considered great technical wrestlers (you know I had to add that in there)

Short title reigns=higher ratings.

Thanks Shockmaster, but where did you get this info, if you don't mind me asking.

 

[Shadowmancer]

It makes sense that Taker is the top drawing Champ of the RAW era of WWE. Though it is interesting that Edges second run as champ was less than that of Cenas second title reign. But what people will probably be shocked about is that Hulk Hogan dosn't have the Highest and He goes and thinks himself to be that of big name. Even though he did get more than Cena is getting now.

 

[Shocky]

I got the Ratings from one of the hundres of Ratings Archives on the net, and then simply matched up dates of title reigns to those Raw reports. Especially in the early years, Raw would skip a monday, but I wouldn't count those into the ratings. (Damn Dog Shows). So i just added up the ratings and divided it by the # of weeks their title reign.

The nicest thing out of this is that myth of Chris Benoit didn't draw goes flying out the window. Chris Benoits Title Regin outdrew two of John Cena's title reigns. And Edge, man did people tune into see him.

You can see though were trouble began with the Brand Extension. Those ratings were coming down, but once that happened they sank like a rock.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Shouldn't this be in the WWE section?
funny to see that Triple H's either side of Goldberg were Higher than Goldbergs. It is interesting to see that Shawn Michaels title reigns were among the lowest rating reigns on here.

 

[Shocky]

Ya i wasn't sure if it should go in the WWE section, or since it's the entire history of Raw that it goes into the old school section. I'm sure someone will move it there if they need to. This is one of those grey area threads.

It's amazing to see in 2002 how those ratings dropped. Especially when the undisputed champion had to go and be exclusive to a brand for a month.

 

[figure4]

Yea, that is true. Very interesting stuff. I don't know...I just think that there are really a lot of people who left the business as soon as the four fathers of the Attitude era--Stone Cold, The Rock, Mankind and Undertaker (pre-American Badass and Dead Man reincarnate) left. I know personally I left for a while once I realized that The Rock and Stone Cold weren't going to be doing it anymore. That really hurt me but eventually I cam back to it. That's an era some people will just never let go, sort of like the glory days of the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees.

I personally think the ratings during the Triple H era of late 02-04 tanked because of WWE bringing in Goldberg, honestly. I know Goldberg was a big star, but I just think people didn't respond to him as well in 2003 as they did in 1998. My next question is why were the title reigns before the Attitude era so low? I knew they were bad, but DAMN! Nobody could even crack the 3.0 mark until HBK's 3rd reign.

I got an answer. Look at the guy in my sig.

 

[Shadowmancer]

This was post Hogan WWE. WCW was literally killing WWE in the Ratings even before the nWo. Id love to compare these to Nitro's around that time. it would be a good way to compare them as it would show some intresting stuff Im guessing.

 

[figure4]

I think overall WCW's roster was better, too, with all the legends they had over there. They really had a lot of talent, and adding Hogan only made things worse for WWE. Just like a lot of people stopped watching WWE when the four fathers of the Attitude era left, years before the same thing happened when Hogan fled to WCW. nWo 4 Life!

 

[Shocky]

Well even so the Nitro Ratings weren't that much better then the Raw ratings. I think the business itself was just suffering. The business started to boom in 96 with the NWO, but ya, in 95 and early 96, they were just splitting the same 3.5 people that watch today. 95 was just an awful year for the business. I'm one of the guys that left after summerslam 94 and didn't come back, and I just happened to turn Nitro on the night Nash showed up, and i was hooked. Congrats 400.

I'll do Nitro ratings per champion tomorrow.

 

[figure4]

Yes congrats 400 Shockmaster.

I honestly do not know where the business is headed. Will we ever see another Attitude era? If so, will it be in the near future? Will TNA ever be a true challenge for mighty WWE's throne? Will The Rock ever come back? Will Randy Orton ever stop fucking up? Who will be THE MAN after Cena's time at the top is done? I guess we gotta stay tuned.

 

[Shocky]

Well here are the average Nitro Ratings per championship reign. The big thing you notice is skipping in title runs. This is because WCW would have someone lose the belt on a tuesday and win it back on a sunday. WCW got really desperate towards the end, and the ratings proved it.

Hulk Hogan (1) 2.43
The Giant (1) 2.15
Vacant (1) 2.25
Randy Savage (1) 2.54
Ric Flair (4) 2.88
Randy Savage (2) 2.85
Ric Flair (5) 3.11
The Giant (2) 2.89
Hulk Hogan (2) 3.40
Hulk Hogan (3) 4.11
Sting (3) 4.45
Vacant (2) 4.73
Sting (4) 4.63
Randy Savage (3) 5.1
Hulk Hogan (4) 4.08
Goldberg (1) 4.56
Kevin Nash (1) 4.8
Hulk Hogan (5) 4.69
Ric Flair (6) 4.03
DDP (1) 4.13
DDP (2) 3.4
Kevin Nash (2) 3.34
Randy Savage (4) 3.45
Hulk Hogan (6) 3.40
Sting (6) 3.10
Vacant (3) 3.23
Bret Hart (1) 3.10
Bret Hart (2) 3.23
Chris Benoit (1) 3.0
Sid Viscous (1) 3.1
Sid Viscous (2) 2.67
Jeff Jarrett (1) 2.8
David Marquette (1) 2.5
Jeff Jarrett (2) 2.95
Ric Flair (7) 3.03
Jeff Jarrett (4) 2.72
Booker T (1) 2.69
Kevin Nash (5) 3.4
Booker T (2) 2.83
Vince Russo (1) 2.6
Booker T (3) 2.41
Scott Steiner (1) 2.28

 

[Shocky]

And here are the Champion vs. Champion head to head ratings. I'm not finished yet, but here's the first 4 years.

Sept. 4th, 1995 - Oct. 29th, 1995
Diesel (1) 2.98 vs. Hulk Hogan (1) 2.43

Oct. 29th, 1995 - Nov. 6 1995
Diesel (1) 2.35 vs. The Giant (1) 2.15

Nov. 7th, 1995 - Nov. 19th, 1995
Diesel (1) 2.6 vs. Vacant WCW 2.0

Nov. 19th, 1995 - Nov. 26th, 1995
Bret Hart (3) 2.3 vs. Vacant WCW 2.5

Nov. 27th, 1995 - Dec. 27th 1995
Bret Hart (3) 2.43 vs. Randy Savage (1) 2.54

Dec. 28th 1995 - Jan. 22nd 1996
Bret Hart (3) 2.73 vs. Ric Flair (4) 2.88

Jan. 23rd, 1996 - Feb. 11th, 1996
Bret Hart (3) 2.7 vs. Randy Savage (2) 2.85

Feb. 12th, 1996 - Mar. 31st, 1996
Bret Hart (3) 3.07 vs. Ric Flair (5) 3.28

April 1st, 1996 - April 22nd, 1996
Shawn Michaels (1) 3.57 vs. Ric Flair (5) 2.77

Aprils 23rd, 1996 - Aug 10th 1996
Shawn Michaels (1) 2.66 vs. The Giant (2) 2.89

Aug. 11th, 1996 - Nov. 17th 1996
Shawn Michaels (1) 2.25 vs. Hulk Hogan (2) 3.58

Nov. 18th, 1996 - Jan. 19th, 1997
Sid Viscous (1) 2.24 vs. Hulk Hogan (2) 3.26

Jan. 20th, 1997 - Feb. 13th, 1997
Shawn Michaels (2) 2.33 vs. Hulk Hogan (2) 3.55

Feb. 16th, 1997 - Feb. 17th, 1997
Bret Hart (4) 2.1 vs. Hulk Hogan (2) 2.7

Feb. 18th , 1997 - Mar. 23rd, 1997
Sid Viscous (2) 2.24 vs. Hulk Hogan (2) 3.28

Mar. 24th, 1997 - August 3rd, 1997
The Undertaker (2) 2.74 vs. Hulk Hogan (2) 3.28

August 4th, 1997
Bret Hart (5) 2.7 vs. Hulk Hogan (2) 4.4

Aug. 9th, 1997 - Nov. 9th, 1997
Bret Hart (5) 2.65 vs. Hulk Hogan (3) 4.16

Nov. 10th, 1997 - Dec. 28th, 1997
Shawn Michaels (3) 3.04 vs. Hulk Hogan (3) 4.00

Dec. 29th, 1997 - Jan. 8th, 1998
Shawn Michaels (3) 3.45 vs. Sting (3) 4.45

Jan, 9th, 1998 - Feb. 22nd, 1998
Shawn Michaels (3) 3.52 vs. Vacant WCW 4.73

Feb. 23rd, 1998 - Mar. 29th, 1998
Shawn Michaels (3) 3.55 vs. Sting (4) 4.80

Mar. 30th, 1998 - Apr. 19th, 1998
Steve Austin (1) 4.37 vs. Sting (4) 4.33

April 20th, 1998
Steve Austin (1) 4.4 vs. Randy Savage (3) 5.1

April 21st, 1998 - June 28th, 1998
Steve Austin (1) 4.75 vs. Hulk Hogan (4) 3.97

June 29th, 1998
Kane (1) 5.4 vs. Hulk Hogan (4) 4.1

June 30th, 1998 - July 6th, 1998
Steve Austin (2) 4.7 vs. Hulk Hogan (4) 4.45

July 7th, 1998 - Sept. 28th, 1998
Steve Austin (2) 4.49 vs. Goldberg (1) 4.78

Sept 29th, 1998 - Nov. 15th, 1998
Vacant WWE 4.78 vs. Goldberg (1) 4.47

Nov. 16th, 1998 - Dec. 27th, 1998
The Rock (1) 5.08 vs. Goldberg (1) 4.23

Dec. 28th, 1998 - Jan. 4th, 1999
The Rock (1) 5.30 vs. Kevin Nash (1) 4.8

Jan 4th, 1999 - Jan. 24th, 1999
Mankind (1) 5.55 vs. Hulk Hogan (5) 4.70

Jan. 25th, 1999 - Jan. 26th, 1999
The Rock (2) 5.5 vs. Hulk Hogan (5) 5.0

Jan. 27th, 1999 - Feb. 15th, 1999
Mankind (2) 5.77 vs. Hulk Hogan (5) 4.82

Feb. 16th, 1999 - Mar. 14th, 1999
The Rock (3) 6.07 vs. Hulk Hogan (5) 4.35

Mar. 15th, 1999 - Mar. 28th, 1999
The Rock (3) 6.10 vs. Ric Flair (6) 4.15

Mar. 29th, 1999 - April 11, 1999
Steve Austin (3) 6.15 vs. Ric Flair (6) 3.9

April 12th, 1999 - April 26th, 1999
Steve Austin (3) 6.05 vs. DDP (1) 4.00

April 27th, 1999 - May 9, 1999
Steve Austin (3) 6.4 vs. DDP (2) 3.4

May 10th, 1999 - May 23rd, 1999
Steve Austin (3) 7.25 vs. Kevin Nash (2) 3.3

May 24th, 1999 - June 28th, 1999
The Undertaker (3) 6.68 vs. Kevin Nash (2) 3.35

June 29th, 1999 - July 11th, 1999
Steve Austin (4) 6.2 vs. Kevin Nash (2) 3.3

July 12th, 1999
Steve Austin (4) 5.97 vs. Randy Savage (4) 3.45

 

[Shadowmancer]

That is interesting that Shawn Michaels' 1st title run was larger in ratings than Flairs 5th. But then it is interesting that WWE was beating out WCW until Bret Harts 3rd reign and that was against a vacant WCW title. There is something quite disturbing in that. That a champion is beaten out by a vacancy. It is interesting to note that Stone Colds 1st reign beat out two of the opposing WCW reigns but not Randy Savages. Interestig as well to see that there isnt much more than a 5.1 for WCW but WWE got to 6.68 as its highest.

 

[Shocky]

I guess the main thing is is look at some of the shorter title reigns. That explains why Savage beats Austin for the one night he was champion. People like controvery around the belt. I personally hate titles jumping back and forth, but the way the ratings look is that the shorter and more chaotic title reigns are, the more interest and ratings it generates.

I still like how this debunked the whole Cena out drew Benoit in the ratings topic. The main thing i'm interested in is how Bret Hart got his ass handed to him everywhere he went concerning the ratings. I'll finish this list up soon, but it's amazing how someone that a lot of people regard as one of the best of all times couldn't outdraw title vacancies.

 

[Kasey]

Interesting numbers, but some of the digits don't account for such things as the cumulative climate of the business and the audience responses that some of the champions were getting (unless you're talking about the head to head comparisons that are relatively close in time to one another). During the reigns of 1997 (WWF) Michaels, Hart and Taker were grabbing pretty low ratings by comparison to later WWF winnings (even considering the increase for Michaels and Taker's later reigns). However, the crowds during the U.S./Canada angle were the hottest ever in my recollection (and far superior to current WWE programming...even though that has greater ratings sadly), and it can be easily argued that during that time, WWF programming found its footing and really began to establish the foundation of the identity it would ride through the next few years on their way to sheer dominance. I felt that was the case at the time because I was bleeding WCW through and through at the time, but I noticed that the WWF's audiences were really, REALLY crazy. Those were the first times I heard regular "asshole" chants during segments and the reactions the "heels" were getting was insane.

\Also, Hogan's ratings at various points (WCW and WWF) don't come close to some of the ratings his shows scored during his heyday (8.2 for the inaugural Royal Rumble on USA & a 15 on SNME against Andre). Really cool to see the ratings laid out in such a fashion, though, and although I initially thought the roster split was a good business move, the numbers don't lie.

Hart was the unluckiest guy in the bunch. He reigned supreme in the WWF during a time when no one was really watching, and when he finally made his way south to Atlanta, he arrived only to board a sinking ship. Bummer. He was still in Stamford when the climate changed and they found a way to un-paint themselves out of the corner Bischoff forced them into by outsmarting them on a weekly basis. If there was anything that I would judge by the charts and figures, it'd be the overall ebb and flow in the long term of the business and judge the booking and match quality during those times. Michaels, Hart, and Hogan were both drawing ratings that dwelled in the 2's during periods in 1996 when the business was stuck in a fat rut and neither program knew it's ass from a hole in the floor (until Bash at the Beach 1996 in WCW's case), but the ratings were pretty comparable from where I sit. Regardless of the cumulative validity of all the averages...it still feels nice to see Cena lose to Benoit. Ha.

 

[ExtremeIronChef]

Here's an interesting fact. Ratings went downhill for both companies and never really bounced back up much after Hogan's last title reign.

 

[Shocky]

Hogan's last title reign I think was in the middle of Russos stay in WCW. Everyone knew that the company was going down hill. The only ones that thuoght WCW was doing any good were the die hard WCW fans that refused to acknowledge that the WWE by that time, was the far superior product, much like the WWE fans of 97 felt the same way, so no fault of their own.

You can tell by the ratings that once the Wrestlign War was over, the bubble burst like a dot.com company, and it was over. People started watching because it was a competition iwth their friends over whose company was better. By the time the title vacancies in WCW happened, the ship had taken on too much water and was sinking, and the interest in the WWE fans in the business also started to go away.

 

[figure4]

Damn, I love Bret Hart, but he definitely didn't appear to be good for ratings (in either company) as champion.

 

[Kasey]

^He was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was one of the key players that helped lay the groundwork for the Attitude Era and as soon as it really got booming, he went to WCW. Ironically, as it started to wane in quality and popularity. The WWF ratings during the last part of his stay aren't really indicative of the quality as WWF programming and PPVs started garnering insane pops and crowd responses that WCW couldn't match on their best day. Man, I miss the unique nature of the US/Canada angle. People were so pissed! I loved it.

 

[Prax]

Shockmaster, I can't believe I missed this thread for like 5 days. Goddamn exams keep me out of here for a day and look at what happens! I have no idea where the hell you come up with this stuff but it's amazing, you really are a God!

As for the stats, obviously a lot of interesting stuff going on in here, but I do find it interesting that although there's a partial drop in ratings while Cena's champion, they remain relatively stable. But like it was said, obviously there are a lot of other factors that influence the ratings, but it's still an interesting (very interesting!) statistic to look at. good Job!

 

[A.J.]

Awesome work Shockmaster awesome work.

So many things go in when some one is champion, but what surprises me is ever since Cena has come to RAW his numbers have dropped and i think it comes today people don't want a long reign of a champion anymore. To See when EDGE became champion has some strong ratings. Again i contributed it to the shake up and people love a heel champion most of the time. Plus people wondering when Cena get the belt back

I personally think whenever he does lose it we will see prolly one of the highest rated RAW's in a while.

 

[Prax]

Speaking of ratings, I'm curious to see how this week's RAW did with the 45 minute match. If that doesn't get people to watch wrestling I don't know what will.

Dr, in response to your comment, if he does lose the belt, it'll either be on a pay-per-view the night before or it'll be expected, so yes the ratings will go up, but I think that's the case whenever a champion loses his title (at least one who's held it for a while).

 

[ExtremeIronChef]

Hogan's last title reign I think was in the middle of Russos stay in WCW. Everyone knew that the company was going down hill. The only ones that thuoght WCW was doing any good were the die hard WCW fans that refused to acknowledge that the WWE by that time, was the far superior product, much like the WWE fans of 97 felt the same way, so no fault of their own.

Yeah you're right there, but it just shows Hogan's popularity again. Once he lost the title, WCW and WWF, ratings went downhill.