The show opened strong doing a 3.49 first quarter with the set up stuff with C.M. Punk, John Cena and John Laurinaitis. However, Punk & Cena vs. Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler lost 528,000 viewers. That's not unusual for the time slot, but you would think with Punk & Cena that people would have stayed past the first quarter. The Chris Jericho Highlight Reel segment lost 287,000 viewers. Kane vs. Zack Ryder which ended with the big sell stretcher job gained 601,000 viewers, which did well for the strongly sold angle. Sheamus vs. Jinder Mahal lost 490,000 viewers. Brodus Clay vs. Heath Slater gained 35,000 viewers. Miz vs. R-Truth lost 19,000 viewers. The tease of Punk vs. Laurinaitis and ending angle gained 761,000 viewers to a 3.54 overrun. That's normal level overrun growth, but better than usual for a segment anchored by Punk.
Zack Ryder. Lose 500,000 viewers one week.
Gain 600,000 viewers another.
THE ULTIMATE UNDERDOG
HE OVERCAME THE TV RATINGS