A new chapter began for “WWE SmackDown” this past Friday night, as the blue brand returned to the USA Network after spending five years on Fox.
Anticipation surrounded the transition, with many speculating that ratings would dip from the low 2 million range previously achieved on Fox. Surprisingly, for its inaugural night on USA, “SmackDown” nearly matched and even surpassed its last performance on Fox.
According to Wrestlenomics, the USA premiere of “SmackDown” attracted 1.723 million total viewers, along with a 0.55 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This marks a slight decline from their final week on Fox, which had 1.770 million viewers, representing only a 3% drop.
However, the 18-49 demographic saw an increase, rising 22% from the previous week’s 0.45. The ratings mirrored trends seen over the past month, with total viewership down 15% from an average of 2.032 million, while the 18-49 demo improved by 2% from 0.54.
One advantage for “SmackDown” on USA was the absence of strong competition, unlike its last showing on Fox, where it faced the NFL, resulting in lower ratings for both “SmackDown” and “AEW Collision.”
Moving forward, attention will focus on whether “SmackDown” can sustain the positive momentum from its debut or if ratings will decline in the coming weeks.
As anticipated, “SmackDown” delivered an action-packed show, starting with Cody Rhodes successfully defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Solo Sikoa in a steel cage match.
The post-match chaos involved Rhodes, Sikoa, the Bloodline, and Roman Reigns, culminating in a closing segment where Reigns and Rhodes agreed to team up against Sikoa and Jacob Fatu in a tag team match at Bad Blood.