Smackdown Ratings Report: Did Smackdown drop-off like Raw did or hold its ground, key metrics compared to past years

The Jan. 22 episode of WWE Smackdown Live on USA Network drew a 1.54 rating, a small drop from last week’s rating of 1.55. Smackdown experiences less variance from the end of one year to the start of another compared to Raw since Smackdown doesn’t face stiff NFL competition from September to December like Raw does.

The 1.54 is down from a year-ago rating of 1.77 and two-years-ago rating of 1.87. The rolling ten week average for Smackdown headed into this week, including the holidays, was 1.47.

This episode included a Becky Lynch-Asuka-Charlotte segment to open the show, Vince McMahon moderating a Daniel Bryan-A.J. Styles “face-to-face” segment, and Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade in the TV main event.

RECOMMENDED: Raw Ratings Report: Sharp dropoff from last week and over the course of three hours for loaded episode up against NBA