CM Punk is back in WWE to make money, not friends. That’s likely music to the ears of WWE President Nick Khan, who reportedly spearheaded the decision to bring the controversial star back into the fold. One of the reasons Khan and Paul “Triple H” Levesque were apparently so keen to get Punk back was because they are currently looking to secure a new TV rights deal for WWE Raw. If Punk can bring more eyeballs to the product, it could result in TKO Group Holdings securing a more lucrative contract.
Wrestlenomics reports that Punk’s return delivered how Khan and company had hoped, as WWE Raw drew an average overall audience of 1,884,000 viewers, with about 863,000 in the key P18 – 49 demo. This is up 29% in average overall audience and 34% in P18 – 49 viewership from the week before. It had the highest average overall audience viewership since August 7 and the highest P18 – 49 viewership since the April 3 post-WrestleMania 39 edition.
The episode peaked in overall and P18 – 49 viewership in the first quarter hour, with 2,058,000 average overall viewers and about 964,000 of those in the key demo. The final quarter-hour, featuring Punk’s first promo since returning to WWE, saw a 7% jump in overall viewership and a 16% jump in P18 – 49 viewers. These were the most significant leaps in average overall and overall P18 – 49 viewership for the entire show.
The latest WWE Raw viewership information was released moments before today’s episode of Rumor & Innuendo went live. You can watch today’s episode on our X account and YouTube channel, which discusses the spike in viewership following Punk’s return. New episodes stream live Monday through Friday at Noon EST before being added to the Rumor & Innuendo podcast feed.