WWE Raw Ratings Fall Despite Brand-To-Brand Invitational

On this week's episode of Monday Night Raw, The Viking Raiders and The Street Profits faced off in an axe-throwing contest, Seth Rollins recruited Austin Theory as a disciple, and Drew McIntyre vanquished SmackDown Superstar King Corbin in the main event.

WWE introduced the brand-to-brand invitational last week to combat falling ratings but Corbin's appearance did nothing to boost viewership. The May 18 edition of Raw only averaged 1.757 million viewers, an 8.44 percent drop from the previous week which attracted a viewership of 1.919 million. 

Viewers didn't fall by a noticeable amount throughout the episode as 1.814 million tuned in to watch the first two hours. People did switch channels as the red brand entered its third-hour but viewership only dropped by 9.57 percent to 1.644 million. The return of Kevin Owens opened the third hour but WWE did not advertise his appearance in advance. 

Whether Raw can bounce back with better ratings next week remains to be seen. The United States Championship match between Andrade and Apollo Crews will be one of the headline bouts on the show, and the company will look to continue its build towards Backlash.