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After a dip caused by some bigly competiton last Tuesday, WWE bounced back for a show with major WrestleMania implications - and big names advertised well in advance - on Tuesday, March 7.
SmackDown drew 2.74 million viewers this week, up from 2.57 million on Feb. 28 when they were competing against President Trump’s first address to Congress. In addition to not facing off against a Hall of Famer, to drum up interest for their latest episode, the blue brand booked John Cena & Nikki Bella’s first ever mixed tag match seven days ahead of time and touted Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles to determine who would face Bray Wyatt in their Mania main event all weekend long.
WWE had the fifth biggest audience among cable originals on the night, and the highest rating among 18 - 49 year olds.
WrestleMania season is officially upon us now, too, and it seems reasonable to think SmackDown can grow from here with highly anticipated builds for Orton/Wyatt, Styles vs. Shane McMahon and Cena & Nikki’s feud against Miz & Maryse.
For complete results and the live blog for SmackDown this week click here. To read a complete recap & review of all the night’s events click here. For a full playlist of the show click here.