WWE SmackDown Live Rating Soars Following Further McMahon Shake-Up
Mustafa Ali unlikely to receive the credit...
Following a predictable surge in the post-Tables, Ladders & Chairs Monday Night Raw viewing figures, The McMahon Family's "new" era piqued additional interest in this week's SmackDown Live after Vince McMahon rang additional changes on the blue brand.
ProWrestling.net reported the numbers, noting that the December 18th edition of the show drew 2.214 million viewers - up healthily from the 1.977 million that tuned in for the TLC pay-per-view go-home show.
The fact that Vince himself wasn't advertised for the show implies that interest from the supposed shake-up on Monday Night had partially carried over to the B-show, though some of the credit for the rise should also be given to those Tuesday talents that excelled on Sunday.
The SmackDown Live Mens, Womens and Tag Team Championship matches were among - if not the - best matches on the card, with Asuka's victory over Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in particular leaving much to address in the post-script.
As with Raw, WWE taped next week's edition of the show after Tuesday's concluded in order to give the crew Christmas Day off, and they'll hope some of this unusual festive momentum will carry across into what's traditionally been one of the lowest-viewed shows of the year.