WWE's positive ratings pattern continues with this week's Raw

The pattern of a better showing in the ratings for WWE continued as last night’s Raw, even with the competition of a monster number for the Home Run Derby, did 3.01 million viewers.

The number was up six percent, and given the competition, as the Home Run Derby did 8.17 million viewers this year as compared to 5.52 million last year, the increase was far more impressive than what six percent would show on the surface.

The increase was partially based on curiosity coming out of the Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view, but the audience stayed with the show more than usual. The Home Run Derby ended at 10:26 p.m. so it’s possible the last 40 minutes got a bump from people coming back to see the end of the show, as the third hour drop was less than usual.

The three hours were:

8 p.m. 3.05 million viewers
9 p.m. 3.07 million viewers
10 p.m. 2.91 million viewers

Raw was fourth for the night on cable, trailing only ESPN programming related to the Home Run Derby and a celebrity softball game that did 3.58 million viewers.