WWE SmackDown ratings see notable increase for Backlash go-home show
Last Friday’s WWE SmackDown viewership was up nearly 11% for the Backlash go-home edition of the show while the 18-49 demo was also up big.
The broadcast averaged 1.279 million viewers on USA, up 10.9% from the previous week and the largest audience since the night before WrestleMania 42. It also averaged a 0.29 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 16% from the prior week. It was also the second lowest rating the show has done in that category since March 6.
It went head-to-head with an NHL playoff game on TNT that topped all television with a 0.33 rating in the key demo. SmackDown was second on both cable on all television in 18-49 and finished fifth on cable in overall viewers.
As compared to the same week in 2025, overall viewership was down 12.1% while the 18-49 rating was down 29.3%.
Recent WWE SmackDown ratings
Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for WWE SmackDown on USA as well as the 10-week average in both categories.
This past week’s show was down 6.3% in overall viewers and down 14.7% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.
| Date | 18-49 | Total viewers |
| 2/27/2026 | 0.34 | 1,379,000 |
| 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 |
| 10 week average (through 5/1) | 0.34 | 1,365,500 |
