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With the Independence Day holiday behind them and John Cena back in the fold, SmackDown LIVE’s numbers were up for WWE this week... but not to the level they were surrounding the Money in the Bank fallout prior to July 4.
The July 11 edition of the blue brand drew 2.47 million viewers, up more than 100,000 from the previous week. But even John Cena and AJ Styles in the main event couldn’t get them back over 2.5 million as the women’s ladder match drama appeared to do in late June.
Still, that was good for third best among cable originals on a night when Trump/Russia dominated the conversation (finishing only behind opposite sides of that debate in Rachel Maddow on CNBC and Sean Hannity on Fox). And WWE won the 18 - 49 demographic in rating share as usual with a .76.
Next week brings a pay-per-view (PPV) ‘go home’ show. While you wonder about the impact that might have on the audience size, here’s a rundown of the blue brand’s numbers this year:
July 4 - 2.32 million
June 27 - 2.60 million
June 20 - 2.6 million
June 13 - 2.072 million
June 6 - 2.349 million
May 30 - 2.35 million
May 23 - 2.33 million
May 16 - 2.175 million
May 9 - 2.348 million
May 2 - 2.3 million
April 25 - 2.49 million
April 18 - 2.54 million
April 11 - 3.11 million
April 4 - 2.89 million
March 29 - 2.7 million
March 21 - 2.65 million
March 14 - 2.63 million
March 7 - 2.74 million
February 28 - 2.57 million
Feb. 21 - 2.79 million
Feb. 14 - 2.63 million
Feb. 7 - 2.63 million
Jan. 31 - 2.82 million
Jan. 24 - 2.56 million
Jan. 17 - 2.65 million
Jan. 10 -2.53 million
Jan. 3 - 2.59 million
For complete results and the live blog for SmackDown this week click here. To read a complete recap & review of all the night’s events click here. For a full playlist of the show click here.