There was plenty of anticipation regarding the final Dark Side Of The Ring episode for the second season and the buzz surrounding it resulted in the highest viewership in series history.
According to Showbuzz Daily, the May 19 episode of Dark Side Of The Ring, which focused on the Owen Hart tragedy, averaged 349,000 viewers. This was higher than the series-high which was the season two premiere episode focusing on the infamous Chris Benoit tragedy, which averaged 320,000 viewers. It is also higher than last week's viewership number of 264,000 viewers that the episode on The Road Warriors drew.
In the 18-49 demographic, the May 19 episode drew a 0.18 rating, good for 31st best in cable for the day. That number is also better than the one that the Benoit episode drew, which was a 0.14 rating in that same demographic.
The entire second season of Dark Side Of The Ring averaged roughly 257,000 viewers across nine episodes (if one were to include the two-part special on Benoit as one episode, which aired on March 24).
The past few days leading to the episode have been eventful with Martha Hart giving interviews on the subject of her late husband, which prompted a response from WWE regarding those comments. Owen, acting as the Blue Blazer, tragically died at the WWF Over The Edge 1999 pay-per-view when a ring entrance stunt went wrong.