As noted, this Monday’s RAW was dominated by SmackDown Superstars The Bloodline, where Roman Reigns and The Usos defeat The New Day after interference from Bobby Lashley, and then Reigns won a Triple Threat over Lashley and Big E in the main event.
There had been talk going into RAW that depending on the ratings, this could lead to WWE using more top stars on both brands to try and boost the viewership moving forward.
In an update, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter indicates that the idea of using top Superstars on both brands is not a strategy that is going to be implemented.
“Not a long-term strategy. Not even a short-term one,” a source said.
Things can always change, as they often do with WWE creative, but as of this week they are not planning to use top Superstars on both brands, at least as a regular move. It’s still likely that this will be something they use if they need a quick ratings pop here and there.
It was speculated that Reigns may be brought back to RAW in the near future because of how strong they put him over this week. WWE previously teased Reigns vs. Big E in the big champion vs. champion match at the Survivor Series pay-per-view in November, and it’s believed that this match will happen if Big E’s reign lasts until then, which it likely will.
This week’s RAW viewership was up 7.37% from last week, while this week’s key demo rating was up 13.95% from last week.
