WWE SmackDown Sinks In The Ratings With No Roman Reigns Or Jey Uso Post-Payback
This week's "WWE SmackDown" had no Roman Reigns, no Jey Uso, and some viewers apparently decided to skip the post-Payback edition of the Friday night tradition.
Wrestlenomics is reporting that "SmackDown" suffered a 14 percent drop in overall viewership with an average of 2,094,000 viewers overall, with 692,000 viewers from the P18-49 demographic, an 18 percent drop in the coveted demo. This is the lowest 18-49 viewership since May 26, and the lowest overall viewership since August 18. This comes after another dip for the previous week's program, which was the go-home show for Payback. Despite the dip in viewership, "SmackDown" was able to defeat every other sports program in the P18-49 demographic on Friday night.
The most viewed segment of the show was the beginning of the program, with the P18-49 demographic peaking at the end of the show for the conclusion of A.J. Styles' main event match against Jimmy Uso, which saw Solo Sikoa attack the former WWE Champion after the match. The show also featured a match between L.A. Knight and former United States Champion Austin Theory, which Knight won despite the presence of Grayson Waller in Theory's corner. Popular faction The Judgment Day was also in action, with WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions Finn Balor and Damian Priest getting a win over Butch and Ridge Holland of The Brawling Brutes.
The news comes after last Wednesday's "AEW Dynamite" experienced a minor bump in viewership following the All Out pay-per-view. Meanwhile, "WWE Raw" ratings stayed consistent last week, even receiving a minor two-percent bump following Payback.