WWE Raw And Smackdown Both Bomb In The Ratings

Following last week, when Raw posted its lowest non-holiday ratings in nearly 20 years, the show was once again at a crisis-level, number-wise. Smackdown, meanwhile, took a giant hit from last week, posting its lowest ratings since the brand split.

Raw's ratings were virtually identical to those from last week. The September 12 episode of the show garnered 2,679,000 viewers, while the September 19 episode averaged 2,681,000. The good news, if there is any, is that the third hour held up relatively well - the 8:00 PM hour averaged 2,734,000 viewers, the 9:00 PM hour averaged 2,686,000 viewers, and the 10:00 PM hour averaged 2,633,000 viewers. Last week, hour three took a massive dive, but the Roman Reigns-Kevin Owens cage match seemed to help numbers.

Smackdown, meanwhile, drew 2,292,000 viewers, not far off from what the show was doing before the brand split and move to Tuesday. Last week's show posted relatively strong numbers despite Raw's failure, but that now appears to be due to a bump from Backlash. Since the brand split, Smackdown has garnered approximately 80% to 85% of viewership for Raw the day prior, with the exception of last week.

Next week's ratings should be interesting as Raw, despite coming on heels of a PPV, is expected to draw very low numbers due to the presidential debate. Smackdown, meanwhile, has advertised an AJ Styles-Dean Ambrose title match that could draw fans in.