RAW Ratings vs. Monday Night Football- A Retrospective Look

[Unocal 76]

We obviously know that even at its peak, RAW was getting big numbers that could still get clobbered in the fall overall from Monday Night Football, but just for fun I decided to go through all the ratings gaps between them dating back to the fall of 1998 (when their ratings were going gonzo) through 2005 (before MNF went to cable) back when it wasn't cable vs. cable:

1998
9/14- 4.0 to 12.7 for 49ers/Redskins
9/21- 4.0 to 13.1 for Cowboys/Giants
9/28- 4.5 to 11.1 for Buccaneers/Lions
10/5- 4.5 to 16.8 for Vikings/Packers (Battle of 4-0 teams)
10/12- 4.8 to 11.7 for Dolphins/Jaguars (3-1 vs. 4-0)
10/19- 5.0 to 14.6 for Jets/Patriots
10/26- 4.5 to 14.5 for Steelers/Chiefs (Battle of 4-2 teams)
11/2- 4.8 to 13.2 for Cowboys/Eagles (34-0 rout)
11/9- 5.0 to 15.6 for Packers/Steelers
11/16- 5.5 to 13.9 for Broncos/Chiefs
11/23- 4.9 to 15.1 for Dolphins/Patriots
11/30- 5.0 to 14 for Giants/49ers (31-7 rout)
12/7- 5.2 to 15.4 for Packers/Buccaneers
12/14- 5.2 to 11.9 for Lions/49ers (35-13)
12/21- 4.7 to 16.3 for Broncos/Dolphins
12/28- 4.9 to 11.5 for Steelers/Jaguars

1999
9/13- 6.0 to 16.1 for Dolphins/Broncos
9/20- 6.1 to 15.2 for Falcons/Cowboys
9/27- 6.8 (Rock, This Is Your Life) to 13.3 for 49ers/Cardinals
10/4- 5.9 to 14 for Bills/Dolphins
10/11- 6.5 to 10.4 for Jagaurs/Jets
10/18- 5.4 to 12.1 for Cowboys/Giants
10/25- 5.5 to 12.5 for Falcons/Steelers
11/1- 5.9 to 14.9 for Seahawks/Packers (Battle of 4-2 teams, Holmgren returns to Lambeau)
11/8- 5.4 to 16.2 for Cowboys/Vikings
11/15- 6.3 to 13.4 for Jets/Patriots
11/22- 5.5 to 13 for Raiders/Broncos
11/29- 6.5 (RAW is LOVE) vs. 13.1 for Packers/49ers (Battle of underachieving NFC 90s powers in decline)
12/6- 6.0 to 14.3 for Vikings/Buccaneers
12/13- 6.1 to 13.3 for Broncos/Jaguars (McMahon-Helmsley era begins
12/20- 5.8 to 15.1 for Packers/Vikings
12/27- 5.8 to 14.4 for Jets/Dolphins (Dan Marino's final home game)
1/3/2000- 6.5 to 10 for 49ers/Falcons (Battle of 4-11 underachieving teams who fell off after big 1998 seasons)

2000
9/4- 4.2 to 15.3 for Broncos/Rams (Wild 41-36 shootout)
9/11- 5.8 to 12.2 for Patriots/Jets
9/18- 5.8 to 13.5 for Cowboys/Redskins
9/25- 5.4 to 10.3 for Jaguars/Colts
10/2- 5.4 to 11.4 for Seahawks/Chiefs
10/9- 5.4 to 14.9 for Buccaneers/Vikings
10/16- 4.8 to 10.6 for Jaguars/Titans (AFC Championship rematch)
10/23- 5.5 to 12.1 for Dolphins/Jets (Monday Night Miracle)
10/30- 5.0 to 13.8 for Titans/Redskins (6-1 vs. 6-2)
11/6- 5.1 to 14.6 for Vikings/Packers (HE DID WHAT?!)
11/13- 5.0 to 12.4 for Raiders/Broncos (Last MNF game at old Mile High Stadium)
11/20- 5.0 to 13.9 for Redskins/Rams (6-4 vs. 8-2)
11/27- 5.0 to 12.5 for Packers/Panthers
12/4- 5.0 to 9.9 for Chiefs/Patriots
12/11- 5.8 to 11.3 for Bills/Colts (Wild Card elimination game)
12/18- 4.8 to 15.2 for Rams/Buccaneers
12/25- 3.8 to 11 for Cowboys/Titans

2001
9/10- 4.6 to 14.5 for Giants/Broncos
9/24- 4.5 to 11.7 for Redskins/Packers
10/1- 4.4 to 11.2 for 49ers/Jets
10/8- 4.5 to 11.1 for Rams/Lions (35-0)
10/15- 4.1 to 9.9 for Redskins/Cowboys (Battle of 0-4 teams)
10/22- 3.9 to 9.9 for Eagles/Giants
10/29- 4.1 to 11.6 for Titans/Steelers
11/5- 4.0 to 11.9 for Broncos/Raiders
11/12- 4.1 to 10.6 for Ravens/Titans
11/19- 4.8 (Ric Flair is the consortium) to 11.8 for Vikings/Giants
11/26- 4.4 to 12.2 for Buccaneers/Rams
12/3- Can't find RAW rating (Packers/Jaguars got an 11.0 rating)
12/10- 4.7 to 10.4 for Colts/Dolphins (41-6)
12/17- 4.0 to 12.9 for Rams/Saints
1/7/2002- 4.9 (Triple H's MSG return) to 12.3 for Vikings/Ravens

2002 (Where the respectable gaps starts to widen)
9/9- 3.4 to 12.8 for Steelers/Patriots (SB banner raised in first game at Gilette Stadium)
9/16- 3.4 to 11.8 for Eagles/Redskins
9/23- 3.6 to 12.5 for Rams/Buccaneers
9/30- 3.6 to 11.5 for Broncos/Ravens (Chris McAlister 107 yard missed field goal TD return)
10/7- 3.8 (RAW Roulette) to 10.6 for Packers/Bears
10/14- 3.8 to 9.6 for 49ers/Seahawks (T.O. Sharpie)
10/21- 3.7 to 10.6 for Colts/Steelers
10/28- 3.4 to 10.9 for Giants/Eagles
11/4- 3.5 to 12.8 for Packers/Dolphins (5-2 vs. 6-1)
11/11- 3.1 to 12.4 for Raiders/Broncos (500th MNF)
11/18- 3.7 to 11.7 for Bears/Rams (2001 studs turned 2002 duds)
11/25- 3.4 to 11.4 for Eagles/49ers
12/2- 3.3 to 12.2 for Jets/Raiders
12/9- 3.3 to 10.7 for Bears/Dolphins (Ricky Williams goes for 216 yards on 31 carries)
12/16- 3.5 to 11.2 for Patriots/Titans
12/23- 3.3 to 11.6 for Steelers/Buccaneers

2003
9/8- 3.6 to 12 for Buccaneers/Eagles
9/15- 3.7 to 12.9 for Cowboys/Giants
9/22- 3.6 to 11.9 for Raiders/Broncos
9/29- 3.4 to 12.1 for Packers/Bears (First game at renovated Soldier Field)
10/6- 3.4 to 10.2 for Colts/Buccaneeers (4th quarter comeback)
10/13- 3.6 to 8.4 for Falcons/Rams
10/20- 3.7 to 11.9 for Chiefs/Raiders
10/27- 3.4 to 10.7 for Dolphins/Chargers (Moved to Arizona due to San Diego fires)
11/3- 3.4 to 11.6 for Patriots/Broncos
11/10- 3.7 to 12.5 for Eagles/Packers
11/17- Can't find RAW rating (Steelers/49ers got an 11.1 rating)
11/24- 3.6 (RAW Roulette) to 10.9 for Giants/Buccaneeers
12/1- 3.7 to 11.0 for Titans/Jets
12/8- 3.8 to 10.9 for Rams/Browns
12/15- 3.5 to 12.6 for Eagles/Dolphins (10-3 vs. 8-5)
12/22- 3.0 to 11.1 for Packers/Raiders (Brett Favre monster game days after his dad died)

2004
9/13- 3.6 RAW (Can't find rating for Packers/Panthers)
9/20- 3.7 to 12.8 for Vikings/Eagles (Moss vs. T.O.)
9/27- 3.5 to 13.0 for Cowboys/Redskins (Parcells vs. Gibbs)
10/4- 3.4 to 11.2 for Chiefs/Ravens
10/11- 3.4 to 10.1 for Titans/Packers
10/18- 3.0 to 7.7 for Buccaneers/Rams (Lowest rated ABC MNF ever, both got killed in ratings by playoff baseball)
10/25- 3.7 to 11.0 for Broncos/Bengals
11/1- 3.6 to 9.7 for Dolphins/Jets
11/8- 3.6 to 11.6 for Vikings/Colts (Culpepper vs. Peyton Manning)
11/15- 3.9 to 11.6 for Eagles/Cowboys (T.O. and Nicolette Sheridan ring a bell?)
11/22- 3.9 to 10.6 for Patriots/Chiefs
11/29- 3.9 to 11.5 for Rams/Packers (Favre's 200th consecutive start)
12/6- 3.9 (Trish/Lita main event) to 10.9 for Cowboys/Seahawks (Seattle blows 11-point lead at the 2-minute warning)
12/13- 3.8 to 13.8 for Chiefs/Titans (Wildly entertaining 49-38 game game between 4-8 teams)
12/20- 2.7 to 11.0 for Patriots/Dolphins (2-11 Miami shocks 12-1 New England)
12/27- 3.5 to 10.5 for Eagles/Rams

2005
9/12- 3.3 to 13.0 for Eagles/Falcons (NFC Championship rematch)
9/19- 3.6 to 10.8 for Redskins/Cowboys (Washington scores 2 late miracle long bomb touchdowns)
9/26- 3.2 (Last show on SPIKE TV) to 8.8 for Chiefs/Broncos
10/3- 4.4 (WWE Homecoming on USA) to 10.3 for Packers/Panthers
10/10- 4.0 to 10.2 for Steelers/Chargers
10/17- 3.7 to 9.7 for Rams/Colts (Indy goes on 45-3 run after falling behind 17-0)
10/24- 3.9 to 9.7 for Jets/Falcons
10/31- 3.4 to 11.0 for Ravens/Steelers
11/7- 3.6 to 14.3 for Colts/Patriots (Peyton finally beats Brady and finally wins at Foxboro)
11/14- 4.5 (Eddie Guerrero tribute) to 12.4 for Cowboys/Eagles (Dallas scores 2 touchdowns in final 3 minutes- McNabb sports hernia on pick 6 ends his season)
11/21- 3.6 to 10.8 for Vikings/Packers
11/28- 3.9 to 14.8 for Steelers/Colts
12/5- 4.1 (Trial of Eric Bischoff) to 9.9 for Seahawks/Eagles (Monday Night Massacre- 42-0)
12/12- 4.1 to 10.0 for Saints/Falcons
12/19- 3.7 (Tribute to the Troops) to 8.2 for Packers/Ravens (48-3)
12/26- 3.7 to 9.2 for Patriots/Jets (Final ABC MNF game, last MNF on national TV)

[jimmyjames]

I remember when the execs at ABC and ESPN were complaining about the ratings that MNF was getting, and along with the media, crediting or blaming RAW for the MNF ratings, saying that MNF was dead or dying. They had about 20 different reasons why, but one of the biggest was that wrestling (Raw) was killing them in the ratings. Now, I see why they never gave any actually numbers to back those claims up. Looks like MNF was doing so bad after all.

[Hit Girl]

I've never understood why WWE chose to schedule its flagship TV show against such a popular sport on Monday nights.

[thecrusherwi]

I would like to see the ratings for these years prior to football season. I was trying to make this point in another thread a few weeks ago that it was concerning that Raw's rating is noticeably lower during football season than it normally is, because that hasn't always the case.

Just glancing at the data, it sure looks like they held a consistent audience throughout the season, but I would love to see how many dropped off at the beginning of the year.

[Jedi-El of Tomorrow]

Oct 22, 2013 2:18:40 GMT -5 Unocal 76 said:

11/6- 5.1 to 14.6 for Vikings/Packers (HE DID WHAT?!)

Screw you Antonio Freeman! That cost me the championship in the fantasy football league I was in. I lost that game to the team that would be the 1 seed, by 3 freaking points, because of Freeman's touchdown. I wound up as the 2 seed, won the 1st game in the playoffs, lost in the next round to the 3 seed (we had the 2 highest scores of the week), and lost in the consolation game which for the 2nd week in a row I had the 2nd highest point total.

[AdamAFL was sooooo wrong]

The Monday Night Miracle only got a 12.1? For shame! That's the match that got me into American Football.

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

Oct 22, 2013 3:46:18 GMT -5 Hit Girl said:

I've never understood why WWE chose to schedule its flagship TV show against such a popular sport on Monday nights.

to be fair it's only 4 1/2 months of the year.

[Deleted]

Since these numbers are from when MNF was on network TV I expected their numbers to be significantly higher. I'd love to see the total viewers for these matchups instead of the ratings points.

[MichaelMartini]

Oct 22, 2013 3:46:18 GMT -5 Hit Girl said:

I've never understood why WWE chose to schedule its flagship TV show against such a popular sport on Monday nights.

It's only 16 weeks out of the year.

[RowdyRobbyPiper]

Oct 22, 2013 3:46:18 GMT -5 Hit Girl said:

I've never understood why WWE chose to schedule its flagship TV show against such a popular sport on Monday nights.

It wasn't originally the flagship show. Plus before RAW, the time slot was Prime Time Wrestling with was highlights plus some exclusive matches.

[Unocal 76]

BTW, here's a few other sports/RAW head-to-heads from Attitude Era apex:

June 21, 1999- 6.0 rating vs. 12.1 for game 3 of Spurs/Knicks NBA Finals

June 5, 2000- 5.9 rating vs. 3.3 for game 4 of the Devils/Stars Stanley Cup Finals

June 19, 2000- 5.8 rating vs. 14.7 for game 6 of the Pacers/Lakers NBA Finals

[percymania]

What I'm gathering out of this is if the WWE wants ratings, they should book the Green Bay Packers.