WWE Raw Ratings for 4/27 Episode Hit Record Lows

Monday Night Raw's downward trend into historically low ratings continued this week, as the April 27, 2020 episode of the Red Brand brought in an average of just 1.817 million viewers (via ShowBuzz Daily). The show has been struggling to keep viewers invested ever since it was forced to move to the empty WWE Performance Center back in March, and while its first and second hours still finished in the top five in terms of ratings (0.56 and 0.53), the third hour saw its rating drop .10 points with 1.619 million viewers. The episode set a new record for lowest viewership for a non-holiday episode of Raw, and the gap between it and the lowest viewership in show history (1.78 million average on Christmas Eve 2018) is narrowing.

This week's episode marked the fourth time in 2020 that Raw has failed to produce an average of two million viewers, and its last three episodes have all failed to bring in at least two million for a single hour.

For the fans who did watch, the show was well-received overall. Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins had a fun contract signing in the final segment, Zelina Vega once again stood out as one of the show's best personalities and Apollo Crews received a shocking amount of character development when he pinned Andrade, challenged "El Idolo" for his United States Championship and nearly won before one of his knees gave out. His injury will keep him out of action for the upcoming Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

Vince McMahon commented on the falling ratings during last week's quarterly earnings call, saying that he was confident they'd bounce back as new stars are established. He also mentioned Brock Lesnar's absence as a reason behind them falling.

This week's SmackDown, which is also struggling to keep its audience, has two matches on the docket — Dolph Ziggler vs. Otis and Mandy Rose vs. Carmella. The winners of both matches will be added to the upcoming Money in the Bank Ladder matches at the May 10 pay-per-view.

Here's the Money in the Bank card as of now:

• WWE Universal Championship: Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt
• WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins
• SmackDown Women's Championship: Bayley vs. Tamina
• Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Filmed at WWE Headquarters): Daniel Bryan vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Aleister Black vs. King Corbin vs. Otis/Dolph Ziggler vs. TBD
• Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Filmed at WWE Headquarters): Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax vs. Dana Brooke vs. Lacey Evans vs. Mandy Rose/Carmella