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Well, what do you know?
It wasn’t advertised until the night before, but the Jinder Mahal/Randy Orton non-title rematch which main evented the Aug. 8 SmackDown is just as likely as anything else to be the reason viewership and ratings ticked up for the blue brand this week.
Actually, it was probably John Cena. Or James Ellsworth.
Audience size-wise, the episode drew 2,584,000, another small (~15,000 viewers) gain from the week before. That was good for second among cable originals, as WWE pulled in front of Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, finishing only behind Sean Hannity on Fox News.
Among the 18 - 49 year old demographic, ratings rose to .80 from a .76 seven days earlier, which was again best on the night.
While you say your prayers (and take your vitamins) this doesn’t lead to more Viper vs. Maharajah matches, here’s a rundown of the blue brand’s numbers this year:
Aug. 1 - 2.57 million
July 25 - 2.54 million
July 18 - 2.55 million
July 11 - 2.47 million
July 4 - 2.32 million
June 27 - 2.60 million
June 20 - 2.6 million
June 13 - 2.072 million
June 6 - 2.349 million
May 30 - 2.35 million
May 23 - 2.33 million
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.