'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
WWE's weekly RAW show has seen a spike in fan interest ever since Triple H took over as the Head of Creative last month. While SmackDown on FOX had been outperforming RAW in viewership before the change in authority, the network's interest in the red brand might be on display tonight.
The first RAW led by The Game took place on August 1, the night after the highly-lauded SummerSlam. The hype around the show led to USA Network allowing WWE to run the first hour without commercials, possibly bringing in many new viewers.
Tonight's episode of the longest-running weekly edisodic TV show in US history will see its final hour run with limited ads, as reported by Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast on Twitter.
There is no confirmation of what "limited ads" means. It is possible that very few ads will run during the third hour of the show, or the advertisements may run picture-in-picture alongside the in-ring action, as is often seen with AEW Dynamite on rival network TBS.
Tonight's episode will emanate live from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, and will feature WWE Hall of Famer and hometown star Trish Stratus.
The night will also see Edge take on Damien Priest of Judgment Day in a singles match, and the semi-final of the Women's Tag Team Championship tournament pitting Alexa Bliss and Asuka against Dakota Kai and IYO SKY.
WWE RAW has been pulling impressive weekly viewership since Vince McMahon retired
The weekly viewership for WWE RAW has been impressive ever since Vince McMahon shockingly retired and Triple H took over as Head of Creative.
The show used to pull in viewers somewhere in the 1.6-1.8 million-viewer range on average across its three hours. The first episode led by the Cerebral Assassin notched the show's highest viewership since the start of the pandemic with 2.23 million.
The subsequent episodes have dipped below the two million mark but still pulled in 1.957 million and 1.978 million viewers on August 8 and 15 respectively.
WWE's "Flagship Show" used to regularly be outperformed by SmackDown in terms of viewership. But the red brand has closed the gap and even outperformed Friday night's show since The Game took over.
This might be attributed to the supposed new direction the company is taking under new management, or the bevy of formerly released superstars making their way back to TV.
