WWE Sets SHOCKING Record Low On Latest SmackDown
Last week's episode of WWE SmackDown set a record for 2022. Can you guess what it is?
Last Friday's episode of SmackDown had the least amount of bell-to-bell ring time of any main WWE broadcast this year.
Wrestling Inc used popular database Cagematch to figure out that the show only had 13 minutes and 40 seconds of actual in-ring action across the full two hours. The longest match on the card was a 6:40 bout pitting future Intercontinental Title contender Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Ludwig Kaiser.
This is the first top WWE show to drop below the 20-minute mark for wrestling in 2022; others that came close include the 8 April (21:28), 4 March (24:15) and 25 February (24:00) episodes of blue brand telly.
Amazingly, seven individual SmackDown matches this year have lasted longer than that 13:40 total from Friday. For example, Roman Reigns vs. Riddle from the 17 June broadcast went 16:56, and Charlotte Flair vs. Naomi on 11 February ran for 19:55.
Last week's show was more concerned with setting up bouts for the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view on 30 July than featuring solid in-ring wrestling. No match other than Naka vs. Kaiser lasted longer than three minutes - two of them ran for less than 90 seconds.