WWE To Set Disheartening Attendance Record With Tonight’s Raw?
It is entirely possible that tonight's "WWE Raw" sets an unfortunate record for the flagship program.
According to WrestleTix, tonight's edition of "WWE Raw" in Wichita, KS is on track to have the lowest attendance for the program, since it resumed touring in 2021. The current ticketed attendance of 3,167 is over-1,000 tickets short of the last time WWE was in the Intrust Bank Arena. The October 22nd edition of "WWE SmackDown" drew approx. 4,580 to the venue.
As of now this is the lowest number for Raw since returning to the road. The next closest is 3,995 (San Francisco, CA).
They were last here on 10/22/2021 for Smackdown and drew an estimated 4,580 tickets distributed.
— WrestleTix (@WrestleTix) June 13, 2022
According to the account, the next lowest attendance since the return to touring was 3,995 in San Francisco, CA (likely the "WWE Raw" on October 11th, 2021, though no date is mentioned in the tweet.) WWE recently moved their Money In The Bank event from Allegiant Stadium to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, seemingly due to slow ticket sales, but the event has officially sold out since moving to a smaller venue.
"WWE Raw" has been fighting an uphill battle as of late, with the unification of the WWE & WWE Universal Championships, as well as the WWE SmackDown & WWE RAW Tag Team Championships, the red brand has been left with fewer championships for stars to fight over than it's sibling brand on Friday nights.
The recent loss of Cody Rhodes was a big blow to the star power of "WWE Raw." While talents like Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Seth Rollins, and AJ Styles are still very much franchise stars, there was a freshness that Rhodes brought, that years of programming have seemingly robbed from the other members of the roster. "Raw" has been building stars like Veer Mahan, Riddle, Theory, and other upstarts, but they are not quite at the point where they can compete with the star power of Roman Reigns, The Usos, The New Day, and other talents on "WWE SmackDown."
There are no matches announced for tonight's episode of "WWE Raw." So far the Wichita crowd is scheduled to see The Judgment Day address their new direction after attacking former leader Edge, and Seth Rollins will talk about why he attacked Cody Rhodes on last week's episode.