Top Takeaways from last Friday’s WWE Smackdown viewership including whether it dropped after last week’s surge for AJ Lee appearance

By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

Brock Lesnar

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

Friday night’s (9/12) episode of WWE Smackdown on USA Network – featuring Brock Lesnar, a Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton main event, Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill in a Women’s Title match, and a Sami Zayn U.S. Title Open Challenge – averaged 1.316 million viewers, compared to 1.585 million the prior week and the 1.147 the week before that. The current ten-week rolling average is 1.329 million.

One year ago this week, it drew 1.723 million viewers. The ten-week rolling average a year ago was 2.102 million. This was a mix of the final weeks on Fox broadcast network and the move to USA Network.

Two years ago this week, Smackdown drew 2.570 million viewers. Then ten-week rolling average was 2.206 million.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…


Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Smackdown: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)


In the key 18-49 demo, Smackdown drew a 0.37 rating, compared to 0.51 and 0.28 the prior two weeks. The ten-week rolling average is 0..

One year ago, Smackdown drew a a 0.55 rating with a ten-week rolling average of 0.58.

Two years ago, it drew a 0.70 rating with a ten-week rolling average of 0.60.

TOP TAKEAWAYS…

•Friday’s episode brought Smackdown back to its average after a big drop two weeks earlier and a jump for A.J. Lee’s return and a John Cena segment one week earlier.

•Smackdown this past Friday has around half of the viewership of two years earlier on Fox. WWE has lost a lot of viewers with the switch from Fox to USA. Smackdown has lost even more viewers compared to a year ago, around 150,000.

•Smackdown features a strong line-up with an advertised Brock Lesnar appearance, Sratton defending against Cargill, McIntyre vs. Orton, and a Sami Zayn U.S. Title Open Challenge. WWE didn’t do much during the show to actually build anticipation for the McIntyre-Orton match, relying viewers’ memories mostly to care about the match and stay tuned until the end. They might have paid a price for that.

CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Jerry Lawler’s first public comments since suffering a stroke


Check out our RATINGS HEADQUARTERS PAGE for more ratings reports.

RECOMMENDED NEXT: Big viewership test tonight for WWE Smackdown after alarmingly low rating for episode advertising John Cena last week – full ratings details

(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com. You can also send live event results and news tips to pwtorch@gmail.com. Also, we’re always looking for volunteer contributors to help us round out of coverage of the pro wrestling scene.)

Follow us on Blue Sky, a great Twitter alternative, as we shift away from TwitterX…

https://bsky.app/profile/pwtorch.bsky.social (search “pwtorch”)

https://bsky.app/profile/thewadekeller.bsky.social (search “thewadekeller”)

THANK YOU FOR VISITING

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply