WWE Raw ratings (Oct. 17, 2016): Viewers up for Goldberg’s return

Viewers were down again this week for Monday Night Football but WWE got good news for Monday Night Raw, as the show, which drew 2.75 million viewers last week, was all the way up to 3.13 million viewers this week.

They can thank Goldberg for that.

It was known for a full week ahead of time that he would make his return after 12 years away and fans showed up early and stayed all night waiting to see him, as the hourly breakdown makes clear:

Hour one: 3.17 million
Hour two: 3.11 million
Hour three: 3.12 million

WWE smartly made multiple announcements on this show for big segments next week, including the return of Brock Lesnar, a Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho match, and New Day vs. Cesaro & Sheamus. It’s also the Hell in a Cell go home show, so it will be worth watching to see if Goldberg’s return and feud with Lesnar can help WWE stay above 3 million viewers a week over the next month or so.

For complete results and the live blog from Raw click here. For a recap with reactions to all the night's events click here. To watch highlights of the show click here.