WWE SmackDown Falls To Lowest Audience Ever, Under 1 Million Viewers (WWE News)

Fewer than 1 million viewers watched last week's WWE SmackDown as blue brand hits all-time low.

Drew McIntyre Cody Rhodes
WWE.com

WWE SmackDown has fallen to its lowest total audience for a non-preempted episode in the show's history.

The blue brand's 31 October episode was watched by an average of 933,000 viewers across its two hours on USA Network, reports Programming Insider. This is the first time in SmackDown's history that the show has dropped below 1 million viewers in its regular timeslot.

SmackDown finished with a P18-49 rating of 0.20, enough for it to finish fourth on the night amongst all telecasts. Despite the all-time low, SmackDown still topped the night's cable rankings, sharing the spot with an ESPN college football game between North Carolina and Syracuse, also drawing a 0.20 rating.

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This marks the fourth time WWE SmackDown has slumped to an all-time low audience in 2025. It first happened on 29 August, with 1.147 million viewers, then twice in early October, before this week's slump.

SmackDown faced intense competition this week, which partly explains the show's decline. The World Series' Game 6 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays drew 17.429 million viewers and a P18-49 rating of 3.52 on Fox, dominating the night's rankings.

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Last week's SmackDown was marketed heavily around a contract signing between Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre, ahead of their Saturday Night's Main Event match. McIntyre closed the segment on top, then lost at SNME. WWE also booked a tag team match pitting MFT's JC Mateo and Tama Tonga against The Motor City Machine Guns for the 31 October episode, plus Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax.

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.