WWE Raw Oct. 11 Episode Draws Smallest Crowd Since Returning to Touring

By Connor Casey

This week's Monday Night Raw had the worst crowd attendance since WWE put the Red Brand back on the road according to WrestleTix. The show had an estimated attendance of 4,208 with 3,995 tickets distributed. The show took place at the Chase Center in San Fransisco and beat out the previous smallest crowd in Oklahoma City at 4,818. WWE has been back on the road since mid-July after spending over a year holding its weekly shows without fans inside the WWE Performance Center and WWE ThunderDome. 

Raw was headlined by a tag team match involving Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks (which was thrown out by the referees twice) and Big E and Drew McIntyre versus The Usos. The show also featured two more opening-round matches in both the King of the Ring and Queen's Crown tournaments (though the latter has been openly criticized for none of its matches lasting even four minutes). 

Based on the results of the WWE Draft, the Red Brand will get a refreshed roster with the potential for new matchups, though it doesn't go into effect until Oct 22 (the day after the Crown Jewel pay-per-view). 

Despite the low attendance, Raw has put on some major moments in recent weeks including E's WWE Championship victory, a triple threat main event match between E, Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley and a Steel Cage WWE Championship match between E and Lashley. 

"I'm not sure it's entirely sunken in yet," E told ComicBook while reflecting on his whirlwind of a month. "It's still very cool. As much as I think I'm ready for this, and I feel very confident in that in many ways, and I keep saying this but, in many ways, I still harken back to being a failed former football player who took this job on a whim. I'm just a guy who likes being obnoxious, doing splits in rings and making people laugh. For some reason, they took me seriously enough to put me in this position. That is pretty cool. But yeah, it's only been a couple weeks, maybe a little over a couple weeks, but it's been, I think it's been a good start. Like you said, man, already, in these few weeks, we've done stuff. We've had a tag match, a dream match with The Bloodline, a triple threat that you could also, that's a WrestleMania caliber match with Roman (Reigns) and Bobby (Lashley) and, like you said, the cage match with Bobby."

"I feel like I've had four months' worth of programs and pay-per-view caliber matches in a few weeks, but I've had a lot of fun doing it," he added. "It's been a lot of work, as they tell you, with interviews and media, but it's been fun, man, and everyone's been so kind. I'm trying my best not to squirm and bristle and deflect with the compliments. I'm trying to do a better job accepting my flowers. So, it's been really cool to have so many people be so kind, and it's been a good start so far."

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