Update: Final Raw 1,000 Rating; Detailed Report Inside

preliminary data for the 1,000th episode of Monday Night Raw suggested the show's best viewership in recent years. We can now confirm this to be true, as the overall 3-hour television rating was a 3.84, with an average of just over 6 million viewers.

The first hour, featuring the advertised return of Degeneration X drew the lowest rating with a 3.48, which is a huge success considering the new early start time and last week's cumulative score of a 3.44.

The second hour contained the advertised return of Brock Lesnar, an Intercontinental Championship match, the return of the Rock and of course the wedding segment between Daniel Bryan and AJ. This drew a 3.95 and was the second highest score of the night.

The third and final hour showcased the highly anticipated WWE Championship match between John Cena and CM Punk, and garnered the highest rating of the night with a 4.09! These are easily the best numbers Monday Night Raw has done since the WrestleMania build-up in 2009, drawing over 1,000,000 new viewers since last week's Money in the Bank follow-up show.

Two Championships Will Not Be Unified As Previously Rumored

It has been rumored for months, even dating back to last year, about the WWE Unifying the Intercontinental Championship and United States Championship. According to several sources, this idea has been nixed and will not be a topic of conversation for the time being.

Officials feel that with the expansion of Raw to three hours, along with Smackdown, that there are just enough championships on the roster. Expect the WWE Intercontinetal Championship to be defended more on Raw over Smackdown. This was already noticed when the WWE had an open vote of the IC Title to be defended on Raw this week. Christian will defend the Intercontinental Championship against an unknown opponent.

The United States Championship, still held by Santino, is expected to be used more on Smackdown. Officials feel the Intercontinental Championship is the more prestigious title, and if defended more on their "A" show, the fans will be drawn to assuming that belt more important.

Also, there is no plans of unifying the WWE and World Heavyweigth Championships either.