WWE SmackDown Draws Highest Viewership Since April

Another week, another increase for the blue brand.

Kevin Owens
WWE.com

This week's WWE SmackDown was a much-improved show built largely around Kevin Owens' new anti-authority bit, with the former 'Prizefighter' enlisting Roman Reigns' help to once again thwart Shane McMahon and his army of goons ahead of their freshly booked SummerSlam clash.

Such a solid weekly offering warranted a viewership bump, and SmackDown got it, attracting an audience 40,000 stronger than the previous week.

An average of 2.162 million people tuned in for this week's show. This is up from 2.122 million last week and is the show's biggest number since the 16 April Superstar Shake-Up episode, which came in at 2.219 million.

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It isn't all sunshine and rainbows, though. This number is still below SmackDown's 2018 average of 2.352 million, so there's still a long, long way to go before the viewership can be considered healthy. Regardless, any step in the right direction is positive news during these difficult times, and this was the second consecutive week that the SD viewership has experienced a bump.

The blue brand's SummerSlam build has been solid, entertaining, and logical so far. One would think that the audience will continue to creep up if the quality doesn't drop.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.