WWE SmackDown ratings down for Elimination Chamber fallout episode

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode averaged 1.19 million viewers on USA Network, down 13.7 percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience total the show has done on USA since January 23, which was prior to when Nielsen adjusted the way it determines ratings using the Big Data + Panel measurement system.

The show featured the fallout from Elimination Chamber and included a WWE Championship change with Cody Rhodes defeating Drew McIntyre. It drew a 0.27 rating in the 18-49 demo, which is down 20.6 percent from last week and is also the lowest rating SmackDown has done in that category on USA since the January 23 episode.

The show had tougher-than-usual sports competition, going head-to-head with an NBA game on ESPN that topped the cable charts with a 0.40 rating in the 18-49 demo and nearly 1.7 million viewers overall. SmackDown was also up against Fox’s coverage of the World Baseball Classic which averaged nearly 2.8 million viewers and a 0.72 rating in 18-49.

As compared to the same week in 2025, SmackDown’s overall viewership was down 31.7 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 48.1 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, along with the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 3.8 percent in viewers but down 3.6 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.

WWE SmackDown ratings —

Paul Fontaine

Paul Fontaine is a writer and podcaster covering both pro wrestling and mixed martial art. He has been a contributor to F4W Online for over 10 years, focusing mostly on the business side of both sports.

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