SmackDown Viewership Decreases For Royal Rumble Buildup
SmackDown’s viewership is reported to have dropped this week, with Wrestlenomics stating this past Friday’s show garnered 2.06 million viewers, as well as a .50 in the 18 to 40 demographic.
That represents a plunge from the January 7 episode, which had 2.16 million and .55 in the 18-49 demographic. It’s very likely that the rating was assisted by the showdown between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.
Related: WWE's Samantha Irvin Promoted To SmackDown Ring Announcer
The Blue Brand brought in 1,972,000 viewers on the Christmas Eve show, registering a .48 in the aforementioned demographic. The prior episode pulled in 2.213 million viewers and .5 in said demographic.
The show garnered an overnight average of 2.1715 million viewers with a .5 in the 18 to 49 demographic on December 10 and 1.966 million views and a .5 rating on December 3.
An Eventful Night
The most recent episode was pretty eventful. Aliyah made her debut on the show and broke The Rock’s record for the fastest victory on the blue brand, beating Natalya in 3.17 seconds.
Natalya had planned on claiming that record for herself, with intent to beat her opponent before the referee kicked things off and make the pin thereafter, but the plan backfired, and she now holds the record for the fastest-ever loss on SD.
The show also saw Lita make her first appearance in nearly 20 years. The WWE Hall of Famer had a run-in with Charlotte Flair, who she hit with a Twist of Fate for a loud pop from the crowd.
Lita will be involved in the Women’s Royal Rumble at the end of January.
