Bray Wyatt's WWE Return Promo Pops SmackDown's Final Quarter Hour

Early in his second run with WWE, Bray Wyatt is proving to be a needle mover. Wyatt made his return to the company at the conclusion of the Extreme Rules premium live event on October 8. WWE had been teasing Wyatt's return with QR codes, which contained clues that pointed to Wyatt being the big surprise at Extreme Rules.

Wyatt didn't appear on "WWE Raw" the following night, although a recap of his return to the company aired. Instead, Wyatt was featured in the closing segment of "SmackDown." Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics reports that the show saw an increase in viewership for Wyatt's appearance. In particular, there was a sizable increase in the 18-49 demographic.

"The quarter-hour with Bray Wyatt's live promo at the end of SmackDown last Friday grew the audience by 9% and by 16% in P18-49," Thurston said via Twitter. "Highest quarter of the show for P18-49 and one of the biggest quarter-to-quarter growth rates of the year for SmackDown."

That 16 percent increase in the key demo is by far the biggest leap in terms of viewership for the October 14 episode of "SmackDown." The biggest quarter-hour bumps in the key demo outside of the Wyatt promo netted just two percent increases. 

WWE has seen a shift in viewership totals since Vince McMahon retired as Chairman and CEO of WWE. A recent report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that USA Network is said to be ecstatic over "WWE Raw's" TV ratings, as the company has avoided the annual post-summer drop that the network has been used to seeing.