WWE Raw ratings rise for the Money in the Bank go home show on July 8

Although ratings are no real indicator of potential pay-per-view (PPV) buys for an upcoming event, it's encouraging nonetheless when WWE's flagship program, Monday Night Raw, turns in a solid number for the go home edition of the show heading into a major event, in this case Money in the Bank.

That's what happened this week, as Raw did a 3.1 rating with an average of 4.17 million viewers. That's a big improvement from last week and the best number the show has produced since May 20.

Here's the hourly breakdown:

Hour one: 3.79 million
Hour two: 4.31 million
Hour three: 4.40 million

It's not often these days that hour three is the best of the show, but there you have it. The first hour is lower than it usually is but still relatively strong and the show was the highest rated on cable during its time slot outside of only Major Crimes on TNT.

Good news headed into Money in the Bank, and even better news for those who were overly excited about the Wyatt family debut. Can we attribute these numbers solely to the creepy family from the woods? Not necessarily, but the hype they created obviously did quite a bit to assist.

More, please.

For complete results and the live blog click here. For reactions to the show click here. And for a playlist of the entire night click here.