2.5*

WWE went into panic mode after the ratings for this past Monday's episode of Raw came in.

The company were already reeling after making a 3.4 rating a week earlier. The rating was the lowest in nine years. Seven days later - they beat that record.

Nielson results showed that Monday's show did a 2.5. A drop of twenty-six percent from the week previous.

The Benoit aftermath may have been one of the factors surrounding the mass exodus of viewers. The injury list has probably not helped, either.

On the company's website yesterday they announced the return of Mr. McMahon. Ratings had dropped in the weeks following his 'death' from a storyline standpoint but it is hard to pinpoint the loss of McMahon as being one of the key reasons behind the drop as the Benoit deaths happened within a fortnight of the limousine blowing up.

The 2.5 rating may also be contested within the next few days as a number of wrestling news sites have revealed that Nielson have informed the WWE that there was a technical issue in the calculating of television ratings from Monday night.

A revised rating is expected within the next few hours. Whether it will put smiles on the WWE's faces is another thing.