Monday Night Raw/Nitro

Were Monday Night Raw and Nitro instant hits for USA and TNT from the start, even before the Monday Night Wars officially started? Or did the networks have to wait awhile for them to become hits?

RAW did better than Prime Time Wrestling did in the same slot, but wasn’t what anyone would call a “hit”. It typically averaged around what RAW does these days, sometimes lower or higher, and it wasn’t until 1997-98 that it suddenly became the ratings juggernaut that was carrying USA.

Nitro was absolutely a hit from the start, especially by the low standards of TNT, although it traded ratings wins with RAW for the first year or so and then the nWo angle turned it into a mega-hit.