WWE RAW sees spike in viewership and ratings in key demographic

This week's edition of WWE RAW saw a boost in viewership and ratings in the key demographic from last week.

According to Wrestlenomics, the May 16 edition of WWE RAW brought in an average viewership of 1.736 million viewers. The rating in the key-demo of 18-49-year-olds was 0.45. This is a climb of 5.08% from last week.

Last week's episode of the red brand on May 9th saw an average rating of 1.652 million with a rating of 0.44 in the 18-49 demographic.

Last night's show was main-evented by Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the no. 1 contendership for Bianca Belair's RAW Women's Championship. The show also saw a steel cage match between Omos and Bobby Lashley as well as Cody Rhodes confirming a Hell in a Cell match against Seth Rollins at the upcoming premium live event.

This week's edition of WWE RAW netted its highest viewership since the April 11 edition, when the viewership was 1.804 million with a 0.54 rating in the key-demo.

The ratings are still far below what SmackDown is pulling, however. The blue brand pulled a viewership of 1.893 last week, which was the lowest for the show this year.

RAW's low rating as compared to its Friday Night counterpart is due in part to SmackDown airing on network television while RAW airs on cable. Adding to that may be the lack of a men's world champion on the show, as Undisputed WWE World Champion Roman Reigns is a SmackDown Superstar.

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Bianca Belair will defend her WWE RAW Women's Championship against Asuka at Hell in a Cell

Asuka won the right to face RAW Women's Champion Bianca Belair at WWE Hell in a Cell after defeating Becky Lynch in last night's No.1 Contender's Match main-event.

At the end of a competitive match, Lynch attempted to attack the Japanese superstar with a weapon when the referee was detracted. However, Asuka sprayed her opponent with her signature green mist to pick up a pinfall victory.

Belair and Asuka have only wrestled once on-screen, on the May 9 2022 episode of RAW. The match ended in a no-contest when Becky Lynch interrupted and attacked both superstars. Their match at the upcoming premium live event is not confirmed to be, nor is it expected to be inside Hell in a Cell.

What are your thoughts on this story? Are you excited for Bianca Belair to defend her title against Asuka? Sound off in the comments section below!