WWE RAW to set new record tonight amid massive fan interest

WWE is set to present the final RAW of 2024 in just a few hours. Tonight's show from the Toyota Center in Houston will also serve as the last episode on the USA Network, and the go-home show to next week's Netflix premiere. New details are being revealed on unprecedented demand and fan interest going into the upcoming show.

World Wrestling Entertainment is riding a significant wave of momentum as they wrap up another wildly successful year, which was the company's first full year under TKO and Endeavor. Attendance and overall live event business has improved, and that is expected to continue into the new year, but first officials are looking for a sell-out for tonight's live RAW in Houston, and it appears they will get it.

WWE had 14,449 tickets distributed for RAW as of this morning, with 480 tickets left on a setup of 14,929 seats, according to WrestleTix. It was noted earlier that tonight's RAW would garner the third largest red brand TV crowd of the year, behind the March 25 episode in Rosemont, IL, and the April 8 post-WrestleMania episode in Philadelphia, PA. This will also be a new record for the Houston market.

Going into this morning, crews expanded the upper deck areas behind the stage with additional rows of seats, with only the back three rows left inaccessible in certain sections. Crews then opened up more seats early afternoon due to the unprecedented demand in one of the country's hotbeds of pro wrestling. These rows were behind the usual staging area and would include a few dozen seats.

To compare, the March 11, 2024 RAW was held at the same venue in Houston, and drew 12,962 fans. WWE has another crew in Detroit tonight to wrap up the annual post-Christmas live event tour. As of this morning, 9,267 tickets were distributed on a setup of 10,389 seats, putting them at just 1,122 tickets from being sold out. Additional sections inside Little Caesars Arena were also opened up for tonight's event. WWE drew an attendance of 14,659 when they were at the same venue for SmackDown in Detroit on April 12.

WWE has announced the following for tonight: CM Punk and Seth Rollins meet face-to-face, Otis vs. Chad Gable, Pete Dunne vs. R-Truth, The War Raiders and Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, and Dominik Mysterio, plus the semi-finals of the Women's Intercontinental Championship tournament with IYO SKY vs. Lyra Valkyria and Dakota Kai vs. Zoey Stark.