Smackdown viewership stays flat, while key demo rating dips

Viewership for this week’s episode of Smackdown stayed flat compared to prior week at an average of 2.1 million viewers. The key demo rating for adults 18-49 dropped from a 0.49 to a 0.47. The males 18-34 demo rating stayed flat at a 0.36 compared to prior week, but males 18-49 dropped from a 0.60 to a 0.57.

This week’s Smackdown featured the return of Roman Reigns. Reigns and The Bloodline opened the show and addressed the upcoming Summerslam match between Reigns and Brock Lesnar.

The show also saw the new Smackdown Women’s Champion, Liv Morgan, make her Smackdown return. Morgan addressed the audience and then had a confrontation with Natalya, which led to a Nattie vs. Ronda Rousey match.

In the main event, Drew McIntyre was scheduled to wrestle Sheamus with a shot at the Undisputed Universal Championship at Clash at the Castle on the line. That match didn’t take place. Instead, Drew McIntyre defeated Butch

Finally, Smackdown hyped two major segments for this week’s Monday Night Raw. First, WWE revealed that Brock Lesnar would return to Raw for an appearance. Second, Riddle vs. Theory was made official.

CATCH-UP: 7/8 WWE SMACKDOWN RESULTS: Keller’s report on McIntyre vs. Sheamus to earn shot at Reigns at Clash at the Castle, plus Reigns, Liv Morgan, Reigns & Heyman, Maximum Male Models