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With debate raging about the decision to put the WWE title on Jinder Mahal at this past Sunday’s Backlash, all eyes were on the ratings and viewership figures for SmackDown’s Tuesday May 23 episode.
Turns out they were... okay. The pay-per-view (PPV) fallout show, which also featured a promised big announcement from Shane McMahon (which turned out to be the reveal of the competitors for the June 18 Money in the Bank ladder match) and a team-up between AJ Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event, saw viewership rise from last week’s low for the year. But at 2.33 million, it was still the third smallest audience of 2017.
Rating share among 18 - 49 year olds increased to .80 from the .68 the blue brand managed on May 16. That was the third highest of any cable original on the night, finishing behind the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics game and a studio show covering the NBA playoffs.
WWE gets a break next week as even if the Celtics mount an amazing comeback, the Eastern Conference finals will be over by next Tuesday and the next series doesn’t begin until Thursday. We’ll be able to see how Jinder and the rest of the post-Shake-Up roster does without NBA competition.
Here’s a rundown of the blue brand’s audiences this year:
May 16 - 2.175 million
May 9 - 2.348 million
May 2 - 2.3 million
April 25 - 2.49 million
April 18 - 2.54 million
April 11 - 3.11 million
April 4 - 2.89 million
March 29 - 2.7 million
March 21 - 2.65 million
March 14 - 2.63 million
March 7 - 2.74 million
February 28 - 2.57 million
Feb. 21 - 2.79 million
Feb. 14 - 2.63 million
Feb. 7 - 2.63 million
Jan. 31 - 2.82 million
Jan. 24 - 2.56 million
Jan. 17 - 2.65 million
Jan. 10 -2.53 million
Jan. 3 - 2.59 million
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.