Post-Rumble Raw rating spike:
The post Royal Rumble Raw rating saw a massive spike, jumping to a 3.68 number, with an average audience of 5.02 million viewers on the USA Network. Apart from Raw’s 1000th episode, this week was the highest rated show since the post-WrestleMania 27 episode back in 2011.

Despite the encouraging number, the hour by hour breakdown still demonstrates that 3-hours is dragging.

Hour One drew: 4.86 million viewers.
Hour Two drew: 5.27 million viewers.
Hour Three drew: 4.93 million viewers.

It looks like the ratings will be solid going in to Wrestlemania.

[Loved Raw last night, some solid matches and some very entertaining promo segments with CM Punk and the Rock, and then Vince and Paul Heyman. If all the bullshit Great Khali filler was cut out, it would have been a perfect two hours].

WWE understandably touted the rating in a press release…

USA NETWORK’S “WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW” DELIVERS BEST NUMBERS IN ALL DEMOS SINCE JULY 2012

WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW – the most-watched, regularly scheduled program on cable, airing live every Monday night, 52 weeks a year – had a great night with the best rating in all demos since July 2012 when the show aired it’s 1000th episode and debuted a new third hour of the show.

This week’s 8pm-11:10pm episode of WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW delivered its biggest audience since converting to a 3-hour format on 7/23/12 with 2.4 million (2.395MM) P18-49, 2.4 million (2.37MM) P25-54,1.3 million (1.25MM) P18-34 and 5 million (5.01MM) total viewers.

RAW delivered more M18-34 than any other program on television, broadcast or cable, and was second only to “The Following” on FOX for M18-49.

RAW made USA the #1 network in cable with double-digit margins over #2 History and was the only network to average over 2 million P18-49 (2.28MM, +58% over #2 HIST), 2 million P25-54 (2.26MM, +25%) or 4 million total viewers (4.80MM, +21%).
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Brock Lesnar at Raw next week, the Rock not:
Brock Lesnar will be at next week’s Raw to continue the return storyline with Paul Heyman. WWE Champion The Rock however will not be on the show due to other commitments, but he will be on every other show up until Wrestlemania.

Judging from Punk’s promo on Monday, Rock not appearing might be a point of contention for Punk in the storyline.
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Possibilities for CM Punk’s Wrestlemania opponent:
Although none of this is confirmed there are two logical possibilities for CM Punk’s Wrestlemania opponent. Depending on hour Brock Lesnar’s return plays out, and how they handle Paul Heyman’s association with The Shield, it could be that Heyman was making the dirty deals behind CM Punk’s back. This would allow Punk to turn on Heyman and end up wrestling Lesnar at Wrestlemania. It was leaked last week that there were plans to feud Punk and Lesnar somewhere down the line, possibly next year’s Wrestlemania. Perhaps they’ll bring it forward to this year.

Another idea would be to have Punk challenge The Undertaker’s streak. Since he’s the “Best In The World” and had one of the longest WWE title reigns in modern history, what better way to placate Punk’s ego and give back his momentum, than for him to move beyond the title and challenge the streak?

In my opinion anything other than these two possibilities will bring punk down to a level that he really shouldn’t be at.

Of course anything could happen. There have been talks of Undertaker Lesnar, and Triple H Lesnar.
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Dixie Carter discusses PPV changes:
TNA President Dixie Carter discussed changes to the PPV format, during a recent interview with expatriate magazine The American…

“To cut down the PPVs was a difficult decision because you’re giving away millions of dollars to both your top line as well as the profit line on the balance sheet. We do have success in that. It’s always been the traditional way of doing wrestling but I feel we’re in a place right now where we have to shake things up and we need to look at things differently. It is a big financial risk on our part to do without it but I feel like it will make the PPVs we do much more special and I really feel it will make television mean more. We’ll have an opportunity to let programmes breathe, give away more PPV-quality matches on television, and then when we do have a PPV I know everyone of my guys are going to be fighting to be on that card and it will just be interesting to see how that plays out.”

Carter also alluded to a “big announcement” regarding Impact:

“We’re close to making a big announcement, another one besides the PPVs, which I think will have a great impact on the show, pun intended. Taking the show on the road is the natural next step for us. It’s expensive touring and it’s not that I haven’t wanted to be on the road but it’s a business decision just like losing the PPVs. I’m not going to put this company in any financial trouble, so everything we have done has been very conscious, people were saying we weren’t going to stay in business for ten weeks and here we are going into our 11th year and having more success than ever and that’s because we make good business decisions.”