WWE SmackDown viewership increased substantially on December 30.
According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, 2.629 million viewers watched the show on Friday, which is substantially up from the previous week (2.376 million viewers). Per Thurston, Friday’s viewership number was SmackDown’s highest since Christmas 2020, which had an NFL lead-in. Aside from that, the December 30 episode drew the show’s best number since February 2020.
In the 18 to 49 demographic, SmackDown scored a 0.64 rating, which is also up from last week (0.55 in the same demographic). Per Thurston, SmackDown ranked #7 overall n the key demographic.
Highest Smackdown viewership since Christmas 2020 w/ NFL game lead-in. Excepting that, highest since Feb 2020.
Highlights of Cena's match has over 5 million views on YouTube.
? Full report:https://t.co/sOi6byuuQS pic.twitter.com/vkZAr4iEVQ
— Wrestlenomics (@wrestlenomics) January 3, 2023
This week’s episode was headlined by the in-ring return of John Cena, who competed in his first match since 2021; he and Kevin Owens teamed up to face Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn. Plus, Ronda Rousey defended the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Raquel Rodriguez. Though she won the match, she was confronted by the returning Charlotte Flair, who shockingly beat her in an impromptu match to win the title.
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