{"id":204465,"date":"2025-09-15T15:49:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T20:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=204465"},"modified":"2025-09-15T15:49:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T20:49:42","slug":"top-takeaways-from-last-fridays-wwe-smackdown-viewership-including-whether-it-dropped-after-last-weeks-surge-for-aj-lee-appearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/09\/15\/top-takeaways-from-last-fridays-wwe-smackdown-viewership-including-whether-it-dropped-after-last-weeks-surge-for-aj-lee-appearance\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Takeaways from last Friday&#8217;s WWE Smackdown viewership including whether it dropped after last week&#8217;s surge for AJ Lee appearance"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1111858440\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>Friday night\u2019s (9\/12) episode of WWE Smackdown on USA Network &#8211; featuring Brock Lesnar, a Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton main event, Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill in a Women&#8217;s Title match, and a Sami Zayn U.S. Title Open Challenge &#8211; 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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Two years ago this week, Smackdown drew 2.570 million viewers. Then ten-week rolling average was 2.206 million.<\/p>\n<p><em>ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Smackdown: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/wwe-smackdown-post-show-9-12-keller-maitland-cody-returns-but-what-about-brock-s-reaction-to-his-ripped-jeans-and-blue-underwear--67742358\">CLICK HERE<\/a> to stream (or search \u201cwade Keller\u201d on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WWE SMACKDOWN POST-SHOW (9\/12) - Keller &amp; Maitland: Cody returns, but what about Brock's reaction to his ripped jeans and blue underwear?!\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=67742358&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>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..<\/p>\n<p>One year ago, Smackdown drew a a 0.55 rating with a ten-week rolling average of 0.58.<\/p>\n<p>Two years ago, it drew a 0.70 rating with a ten-week rolling average of 0.60.<\/p>\n<h3>TOP TAKEAWAYS&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p>\u2022Friday&#8217;s episode brought Smackdown back to its average after a big drop two weeks earlier and a jump for A.J. Lee&#8217;s return and a John Cena segment one week earlier.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-718353320\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>\u2022Smackdown 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022Smackdown 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&#8217;t do much during the show to actually build anticipation for the McIntyre-Orton match, relying viewers&#8217; memories mostly to care about the match and stay tuned until the end. They might have paid a price for that.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/prowrestling.net\/site\/2025\/09\/15\/jerry-lawlers-first-public-comments-since-suffering-a-stroke\/\">Jerry Lawler\u2019s first public comments since suffering a stroke<\/a><\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/category\/prowrestlingnews\/ratings\/\">RATINGS HEADQUARTERS PAGE<\/a> for more ratings reports.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED NEXT:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/09\/05\/big-viewership-test-tonight-for-wwe-smackdown-after-alarmingly-low-rating-for-episode-advertising-john-cena-last-week-full-ratings-details\/\">Big viewership test tonight for WWE Smackdown after alarmingly low rating for episode advertising John Cena last week \u2013 full ratings details<\/a><\/p>\n<p>(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at <a href=\"mailto:kellerwade@gmail.com\">kellerwade@gmail.com<\/a>. You can also send live event results and news tips to <a href=\"mailto:pwtorch@gmail.com\">pwtorch@gmail.com<\/a>. Also, we&#8217;re always looking for volunteer contributors to help us round out of coverage of the pro wrestling scene.)<\/p>\n<h3>Follow us on Blue Sky, a great Twitter alternative, as we shift away from TwitterX\u2026<\/h3>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/pwtorch.bsky.social\">https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/pwtorch.bsky.social<\/a> (search \u201cpwtorch\u201d)<\/h3>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/thewadekeller.bsky.social\">https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/thewadekeller.bsky.social<\/a> (search \u201cthewadekeller\u201d)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wade Keller Post-show (9\/12) - WWE Smackdown w\/Wade &amp; Christopher Maitland\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cKQ2ixZI0K8?start=1&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-530900382\"><div id=\"pwtor-2937857678\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Friday night\u2019s (9\/12) episode of WWE Smackdown on USA Network &#8211; featuring Brock Lesnar, a Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton main event, Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill in a Women&#8217;s Title match, and a Sami <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/09\/15\/top-takeaways-from-last-fridays-wwe-smackdown-viewership-including-whether-it-dropped-after-last-weeks-surge-for-aj-lee-appearance\/\" title=\"Top Takeaways from last Friday&#8217;s WWE Smackdown viewership including whether it dropped after last week&#8217;s surge for AJ Lee appearance\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":204466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6916,3],"tags":[105,235],"class_list":["post-204465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-ratings","category-news_wwe","tag-brock-lesnar","tag-ratings"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-3.45.57-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204465"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204467,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204465\/revisions\/204467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}