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Monday Night RAW is catching up to the ratings of WWE SmackDown. The red brand is lagging seemingly due to the absence of top stars such as Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns, but the efforts of Seth Rollins and Damage CTRL are evidently paying off.
This week’s WWE RAW garnered an average viewership of 1.593 million. It gained 93,000 more viewers in comparison to the previous week. The 18-49 demographic rating was 0.43. Meanwhile, SmackDown crossed the 2 million threshold this Saturday while maintaining a 0.48 in the 18-49 key demo.
SmackDown was arguably better than RAW this week, particularly due to the Undisputed Tag Team Championship match headlining the event. The Usos have now become the longest-reigning tag team champions by defeating The New Day.
Fans at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse arena also witnessed the return of Sheamus. The leader of the Brawling Brutes also had Drew McIntyre backing him up. This has set the stage for Survivor Series WarGames, in which The Bloodline is expected to be a part of in the men's match.
The SmackDown World Cup appears to be another reason why the blue brand has thumped its rival brand. Santos Escobar defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to open the competition, while Braun Strowman pulverized Jinder Mahal. Next week on SmackDown, Sami Zayn will clash against Butch.
Take nothing away from the red brand however, it has become the center for multiple shocking returns, who directly link to major storylines and facilitate the action. Mia Yim recently joined The O.C. to counter the Rhea Ripley factor, while Candice LeRae could be the fourth member of Bianca Belair’s team for WarGames.
Former WWE RAW superstar Dutch Mantell believes The Usos put on an epic performance on SmackDown
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's latest edition of Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell praised The Usos for their match against The New Day. He believes that the 5-time champions are well on their way to becoming legendary wrestling veterans.
“It was a great match but to be a great match, all they gotta do is throw these guys together and tell them, 'We need 30 minutes, we need 45 minutes.' Because they have worked together so many times, they know they don't even have to call spots. They know what each one of them is going to do just from previous experience.”
Meanwhile, Finn Balor will fight Seth Rollins on the next episode of WWE RAW. The showdown was set into motion last week when Balor wanted to accept Rollin’s Open Challenge but got derailed by The O.C. Also, Johnny Gargano will continue his story with The Miz and Dexter Lumis.
