WWE Raw ratings decline from last week with Home Run Derby competition on ESPN

With ESPN running the somehow still fairly popular Home Run Derby on its channel in the same time slot, it was expected that WWE's flagship program, Monday Night Raw, would take at least a minor hit in the ratings.

And that's pretty much what happened.

Indeed, Raw, which emanated from the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, New York, and featured a fantastic show (it got that rare "A" grade from me) with all the fallout from Money in the Bank this past weekend, averaged 4.10 million viewers, only a small decline from last week's 4.17 million heading into the Money in the Bank pay-per-view.

Here's the hourly breakdown:

Hour one: 3.93 million
Hour two: 4.11 million
Hour three: 4.27 million

That's the second week in a row the numbers have grown hour after hour, which is always a good sign. It's too early to call it a trend but they're headed in the right direction at the very least.

The same can be said for WWE and its creative direction. The reviews for last night's show have been positive across the board, with hardly a single complaint amongst the notoriously difficult to please smark crowd and the so-called "Internet Wrestling Community."

It's a good time to be a fan.

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.