WWE SmackDown Ratings Hit Two-Year Low with 1.147M Viewers

Not only is last week’s episode the lowest viewership total for the show since moving to the USA Network, but it’s the lowest overall number for SmackDown since the November 24, 2023, episode. It probably didn’t help that the episode was taped prior in Lyon, France, and spoilers were everywhere by the time the U.S. broadcast aired.

Per F4Wonline, it drew a 0.28 rating in the 18 to 49 demographic on the USA Network. Once again, marking it has another first on the USA Network — the lowest SmackDown rating ever drawn on the channel.

Two title matches were set for the Clash in Paris go-home edition of WWE SmackDown. It was Solo Sikoa defending the WWE United States Champion against Sami Zayn, and Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss defending the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. The outcome saw Zayn become the new United States Champion, a first in his career, and Flair and Bliss didn’t even end up defending their titles. The match got turned into a singles match between Bliss and Chelsea Green after a surprise attack that left Flair unable to compete.

There was also a confrontation between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton, where Orton almost punted McIntyre, and John Cena got to apologize to the Brussels kid. The Street Profits defeated Carmelo Hayes and The Miz to go to Clash in Paris and face WWE Tag Team Champions The Wyatt Sicks. The duo was not successful in winning the titles from Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis.

What Happened On The November 23, 2023, Episode?

Let’s go all the way back to November 23, 2023, the other lowest SmackDown episode. The Survivor Series go-home edition of SmackDown, as per WrestlingInc, saw 789,000 overall viewers, and the 18 to 49 demographic had a 0.24 rating. Though it didn’t help that, instead of usually airing on FOX, it was moved to FS1 due to college football.

During the show, the then WWE Tag Team Champions Finn Balor and Damian Priest successfully retained against Street Profits, Kevin Owens and LA Knight defeated Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. The main event saw Bayley and Asuka defeat Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. So anyway, while last week’s SmackDown did poorly, it still did a little better than 2023.

The return of AJ Lee is no doubt what will help this ratings slump. The last time fans saw her in a WWE ring was the March 30, 2015, episode of RAW, where she, Naomi, and former WWE Superstar Paige defeated The Bella Twins and Natalya. Now her last episode on SmackDown was March 10, 2015 – that was also when SmackDown aired on Thursdays!