WWE SmackDown Overnight Viewership Rises After Dramatic Angle

The blue show bounces back from last week's slight drop.

WWE SmackDown Retribution
WWE.com

The latest episode of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX drew an average of 1.956 million viewers overnight which was an increase from the previous week's show, according to Showbuzz Daily.

After bringing in 1.894 million on average last week, the blue brand saw a positive 3.3% increase in overnight viewership. Also, the show managed to score a 0.5 rating in the always important 18-49 demographic, and this ranked as #1 on the night.

On top of Matt Riddle taking on Sheamus for the first time ever in a WWE ring, SmackDown also saw Braun Strowman challenge 'The Fiend' to a Universal Championship match at SummerSlam (after oddly declaring that he didn't care about Alexa Bliss). The Miz and John Morrison also battled against Heavy Machinery, Cesaro beat Lince Dorado, and 'King' Baron Corbin took part in matches against Jeff Hardy and Sheamus.

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Yet, the biggest talking point coming out of the episode was the aggressive debut of the Retribution faction. The five masked figures laid waste to the Performance Center, badly spray painting the plexi-glass and ring, beating up PC recruits and even tentatively slicing the ring ropes with a chainsaw.

Stephanie McMahon also announced there will be a three-brand battle royal on next week's show, with the winner earning a shot at Bayley's SmackDown Women's Championship at SummerSlam.

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Will fans be in a rush to see what Retribution will do next? Can the promise of a new number one contender to the Role Model's belt keep the ratings from dropping?

All will be revealed seven days time.

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Lifts rubber and metal. Watches people flip in spandex and pretends to be other individuals from time to time...