WWE SmackDown Viewership Increases With Women's Steel Cage Main Event

Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, and Mickie James bring the ratings.

by Andy H Murray
alexa bliss becky lynch
WWE.com

WWE's women have been breaking all kinds of new ground lately. Raw's Sasha Banks and Charlotte became the first women to ever compete inside Hell In A Cell and headline a WWE pay-per-view on October 30th, and it was Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss' turn to make history this week.

The duo competed in the first ever women's Steel Cage match in this week's SmackDown main event, and it looks like the move paid off. SmackDown drew 2.652 million viewers this Tuesday, which represents an increase on last week's figure of 2.533 million, and January 3rd's 2.596 million. Monday's Raw also saw a sizeable increase in viewing numbers and went from last week's 2.907 million viewers to 3.271 this week.

Aside from the cage match itself, this week's SmackDown also featured Mickie James' long-awaited WWE return after being revealed as the woman behind La Luchadora, and the return of Jerry Lawler's "King's Court" segment.

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SmackDown finished as the number 10 ranked show in terms of cable viewership, falling behind a number of popular shows like Curse of Oak Island and Fixer Upper. Crucially, however, SmackDown was ranked as #1 overall in WWE's key 18-49 demographic.

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.