WWE SmackDown ratings up for Money in the Bank fallout

Coming off Sunday’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view, SmackDown viewership was up six percent this week, posting its best numbers since May 1. The show averaged 2.315 million viewers on the night. 

SmackDown finished eighth on cable in terms of total viewers but topped the 18-49 demo with a 0.78 rating. 

It wasn’t all good news, however, as the show was down eight percent year-over-year and retained just under 80 percent of the Raw viewers from the previous night. Raw was also down year-over-year, so again the biggest factor in SmackDown viewership seems to be whatever the Raw audience was the night before. 

The show was built around a number one contender’s gauntlet match for a shot at AJ Styles’ WWE Championship, featuring Daniel Bryan, Big E, Samoa Joe, The Miz, and Rusev. That formula has been a ratings success in the past for WWE on Raw. Rusev won the match and will face Styles at Extreme Rules next month.