The decrease in views for “WWE Raw” continued for its May 11 edition, as viewers have been steadily dropping for the show since the episode of “Raw” after WWE WrestleMania 42. The show ranked in the top five for the week on Netflix in the United States, however.
According to Wrestlenomics, with data from Netflix, the May 11 episode of the red brand drew 2.6 million global views over a seven day period, with 4.8 million hours of the show viewed in total. That was down from 2.7 million views the previous week, and 2.8 million for the April 27 episode. “Raw” recently saw its highest viewership for the year with 3.3 million views for the “Raw” after WrestleMania on April 20.
“Raw” ranked seventh for the week amongst English language television shows across the globe, and fourth in the United States. In the US, the show was beaten out by “The Roast of Kevin Heart,” season three of “Worst Ex Ever,” and “Nemesis.”
The main event of the show saw what was meant to be an acknowledgement ceremony where Jacob Fatu pledged allegiance to World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns following his loss at Backlash, but ended in a beat down of the “Tribal Chief.” Elsewhere on the episode, Dominik Mysterio successfully defended his AAA Mega Championship against the Original El Grande Americano, and IYO SKY defeated Sol Ruca. When no one stepped up to answer Oba Femi’s open challenge, “The Ruler” stormed backstage and forced Los Garza to the ring, where he beat them both down.
Among the latest batch of WWE releases was the real-life couple of Aleister Black and Zelina Vega, who previously reigned as NXT Champion and Women’s United States Champion, respectively. Now, the pair is on the road to free agency, with their next moves unconfirmed.
Wherever Black and Vega end up, though, AEW star Swerve Strickland just wishes that it satisfies the goals they’re aiming for.
“They’re both very talented, incredible people. Incredible talents in itself,” Strickland told “The Bootleg Kev Podcast.” “I just hope they find something that gives them the type of, I don’t know what it is that he’s really [looking for]. Whatever it is, I hope they find some place that gives them that. [Black] has so many great ideas. He’s one of the guys that got me into NXT. Him talking with Terry Taylor and he’s like ‘This is a guy you got to watch out for.’ I did tape studies with him in 2017. My last indie run, he was the guy I was going to. He really helped my mind a lot at that stage in my career. So I just hope he finds the place that gives him whatever it is that can fulfill him in the industry again.”
Black returned to WWE in April 2025, just days after WrestleMania 41. Vega, on the other hand, began her second WWE run back in 2021, the same year in which she became the company’s first ever Queen of the Ring.
Black previously worked in AEW from 2021 until early 2025. Vega has history with TNA, WWE’s partner promotion, having performed there under the name Rosita from 2011 until early 2013.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit“The Bootleg Kev Podcast”with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
WWE RAW Viewership for May 11 – The May 11 Backlash fallout edition of WWE RAW on Netflix saw its third straight week of declining viewership, hitting the show’s lowest global audience total in four months.
According to Netflix’s Tudum report, the episode drew 2.6 million global viewers, down 100,000 from the previous week. Despite the drop in viewers, the episode logged 4.8 million global hours viewed, an increase of 200,000 from the prior report.
The 2.6 million figure marks RAW’s lowest global audience since January 19, which pulled 2.5 million viewers.
The episode ranked seventh worldwide for the week and finished fourth in the United States. It also placed inside the top ten in eight different countries. RAW was 1.5 million viewers short of sixth place globally.
The decline came during a week dominated by major combat sports attention, as Netflix’s heavily discussed Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano MMA event on Saturday drew massive numbers.
Most Viewed 5/11 WWE RAW Videos on YouTube
Jacob Fatu OBLITERATES Roman Reigns and The Usos (1.2 million views)
Asuka shares a heartfelt goodbye with IYO SKY (473K views)
Oba Femi forces Los Garza into his Open Challenge (455K views)
The Street Profits & Joe Hendry def. The Vision thanks to Seth Rollins (434K views)
Finn Bálor attacks JD McDonagh before Dominik Mysterio’s Title Match (410K views)
Netflix’s first‑ever live MMA event delivered huge global viewership, with Ronda Rousey’s long‑awaited return helping drive one of the most‑watched MMA broadcasts in history. The streaming platform and MVP Promotions released a joint statement confirming the event’s strong performance across multiple metrics.
Ronda Rousey Gina Carano Netflix Viewership
According to the announcement, “over 12.4 million viewers around the world tuned in live on Netflix with viewership peaking at almost 17 million during Rousey vs. Carano, making it one of the most-watched MMA events of all time.” In the United States, the main card averaged 9.3 million viewers and peaked at 11.6 million for the Rousey vs. Carano main event. Those numbers would surpass the UFC on Fox debut, which peaked at 8.8 million viewers.
The Live+1 global average per minute for the main card reached 12.4 million, based on data attributed to VideoAmp, G&C, and Netflix. MVP Promotions also reported a $2.2 million live gate at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, marking a strong turnout for the company’s first major MMA event.
MVP co‑founders Jake Paula and Nakisa Bidarian said the response has sparked significant interest in the promotion’s future. They stated, “We’ve received an overwhelming amount of interest from investors, strategic partners, and fighters who want to be involved with MVP and the future of MVP MMA. We are currently reviewing all strategic options to do something very meaningful within MMA on a go-forward basis with a distribution partner like Netflix that shares our vision to create lasting impact.”
Rousey defeated Gina Carano in just 17 seconds, delivering a decisive finish in her first MMA fight in nearly a decade. The card also featured former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, along with a fan‑friendly matchup between Nate Diaz and Mike Perry, helping boost overall interest in the event.
With record‑setting viewership and strong financial performance, the success of Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano positions Netflix and MVP Promotions as potential long‑term players in the MMA landscape.
MJF is making his stance clear in the ongoing WWE vs AEW debate. Speaking with Ariel Helwani ahead of his Title vs Hair match at AEW Double or Nothing, he said AEW is delivering the best wrestling on television and that anyone still claiming otherwise in 2026 simply is not watching the product.
MJF will challenge AEW World Champion Darby Allin on May 24 at Louis Armstrong Stadium. If he loses, he will be shaved bald. The event has already distributed 13,848 tickets per WrestleTix, putting it on pace to become one of AEW’s biggest‑grossing domestic pay‑per‑views.
During the interview, MJF praised the depth of AEW’s roster and said the company’s in‑ring output is unmatched. He explained, “We have an embarrassment of riches right now in the AEW locker room. I’m not gonna sit here and name every single name because it’s actually exhausting how many incredible professional wrestlers we have. We have, bar none, the best wrestling on television. It’s not even close. Sorry. Now, WWE has incredible wrestlers, they’re putting on great matches. TNA has great wrestlers, they’re putting on great matches. NXT has great wrestlers, they’re putting on great matches. But I can look in this camera and say point blank I feel we put on the best matches. I feel that it’s not just a tagline ‘Where The Best Wrestle.’ It’s a fact.”
He then addressed the lingering “AEW bad” narrative that has persisted online since the company’s backstage controversies in 2022 and 2023. He said, “It’s gotten to the point now because of the black eyes that were created in the past, it was ‘AEW bad’ for a while just cause after the black eyes. Now there was a reason to say ‘AEW bad’ because some bullshit was going on. In 2026, there’s nothing to say, man. We’re putting on great show after great show. We were up in houses year over year in most territories in the US. Pay-per-view buyrates are up, and I’m about to be in the main event of the second biggest grossing domestic pay-per-view in the history of our company.”
The “black eyes” reference points to incidents such as the CM Punk–Young Bucks fight at All Out 2022 and the Punk–Jack Perry altercation at All In 2023, both of which shaped public perception of AEW for months.
MJF said the current online pushback against AEW criticism comes from fans who actually watch the show. He explained, “What I think is so cool, when you go to social media now, if there is a post that says ‘AEW bad’, it used to just be like, ‘Yeah, you’re right, screw AEW. I’m just gonna stick with my TNA, my MLW, my WWE, what have you.’ Now it’s like, ‘You’re not watching the show.’ Just say you’re not watching the show because you’re clearly not watching the show. ‘Oh, I watch the show.’ Okay, what’s happening? ‘Bullshit.’ Oh, alright, so you don’t watch the show and that’s fine.”
He closed by saying AEW is not trying to appeal to everyone, but the product is thriving because of its match quality and storytelling. He said, “Now I’m not gonna sit here and pretend that our show is for everybody. No product is for everybody, but we are white hot right now because we’re having incredible matches, we have incredible rivalries, and we put on incredible pay-per-views. And I genuinely feel that we have the best wrestling show weekly.”
