The Rock’s return draws best WWE SmackDown ratings since September

Friday night’s WWE SmackDown episode — which featured an appearance by The Rock — averaged 1.736 million viewers on USA Network. That’s up 22.1 percent from the previous week and is the best audience total the show has done since its USA Network return episode last September.

In the 18-49 demo, SmackDown finished first on all of television with a 0.51 rating. The number is up 18.6 percent from the previous week and is also the highest rating the show has done in that category since the re-debut on USA Network on September 13, 2024.

The show went head-to-head with college basketball on Fox, which finished second on the TV charts for the day with a 0.41 rating in 18-49. ESPN’s NBA coverage also aired opposite SmackDown and finished fifth with a 0.31 rating.

As compared to the same week in 2024, when the show still aired on Fox, the overall viewership was down 23.6 percent while the 18-49 rating was down 17.7 percent.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week’s show was up 18.7 percent in overall viewers and 15.9 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.