Rumble choices don’t have much effect on SmackDown’s numbers

The Fri., Feb. 26 SmackDown was the first show after Elimination Chamber, where Royal Rumble winner Edge speared Universal champion Roman Reigns and pointed at the WrestleMania sign. WWE promoted Royal Rumble winner Bianca Belair making her choice of ‘Mania opponent for last night’s show.

Neither had much impact on the blue brand’s overnight numbers for FOX.

Viewers were down from the previous week, but only by a percentage point. Ratings were flat in the under 50 demographic, and only slightly reduced with 18 - 34 year olds. SmackDown finished third on the night among broadcast competitors in both, behind ABC’s Shark Tank and 20/20.

Here are the fast nationals:

Showbuzz Daily

And here’s our running tracker of overnight numbers for the current season. You can also access the tab of year one numbers here (all data still via Showbuzz Daily).

While the Belair decision and a pair of tag matches were announced in advance, they only came a few hours before showtime. Maybe having a week to promote a Daniel Bryan/Jey Uso steel cage match will have more of an impact on next week’s ratings & viewership?

We shall see.

For complete results and the live blog for SmackDown this week click here. To read a review of the night’s events click here. For a full playlist of the show click here.