WWE SmackDown ratings down for Backlash fallout
Friday night’s episode of WWE SmackDown averaged 1.184 million viewers on the USA Network, down 7.4% from the previous week. It’s the second lowest audience for the show since February 27th.
SmackDown averaged a 0.23 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 20.7% from the prior week and is the lowest rating the show has done in that category since January 23rd.
The show topped the prime time cable charts on a night with no major sports competition, almost doubling the next highest show. It was fifth on television, trailing 4 network shows.
As compared to the same week in 2025 the overall viewership was down 8.2% while the 18-49 rating was down 36.1%.
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for WWE SmackDown on the USA Network as well as the 10 week average in both categories. This week’s show was down 12.7% in overall viewers and 30.3% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.
| Date | 18-49 | Total viewers |
| 3/6/2026 | 0.27 | 1,190,000 |
| 3/13/2026 | 0.32 | 1,419,000 |
| 3/20/2026 | 0.32 | 1,439,000 |
| 3/27/2026 | 0.33 | 1,308,000 |
| 4/3/2026 | 0.43 | 1,508,000 |
| 4/10/2026 | 0.36 | 1,412,000 |
| 4/17/2026 | 0.42 | 1,580,000 |
| 4/24/2026 | 0.32 | 1,267,000 |
| 5/1/2026 | 0.25 | 1,153,000 |
| 5/8/2026 | 0.29 | 1,279,000 |
| 5/15/2026 | 0.23 | 1,184,000 |
| 10 week average | 0.33 | 1,355,500 |