Without Reigns or Cena, SmackDown did its lowest rating on FOX since May

Last Friday’s SmackDown promised fallout from WWE’s Payback premium live event the weekend before. But that show didn’t have a big Bloodline angle, and the Sept. 8 episode wasn’t advertising Roman Reigns. Plus, while John Cena will be a fixture on Friday nights for the next couple months, he was in India for Superstar Spectacle last week.

So how did the episode do?

According to Wrestlenomics, the latest episode of SmackDown was watched by 2,094,000 total viewers and drew a .53 rating among 18-49 year olds. Both are way down from the previous two episodes, which isn’t terribly surprising considering those were a Bray Wyatt & Terry Funk tribute episode and Cena’s return. More noteworthy, however, is how it was SmackDown’s lowest rating on FOX since May 26 (a July edition that aired on cable channel FS1 obviously did worse). It was also among the show’s smallest post-WrestleMania 39 audiences.

Still, based on preliminary numbers it looks like SmackDown will easily win the night for FOX. And John Cena will be on this week — and every week until November. We’ll see how the numbers bounce back. In the meantime, here’s a rundown of the past year’s worth of SmackDown’s numbers:

• Sept. 9, 2022 - 2.37 / .57
• Sept. 16 - 2.21 / .50
• Sept. 23 - 2.54 / .63
• Sept. 30 - 2.21 / .54
• Oct. 7 - 2.24 / .54
• Oct. 14 - 2.27 / .54
• Oct. 21 - 2.23 / .52
• Oct. 28* - 835K / .23
• Nov. 4 - 2.14 million / .48
• Nov. 11 - 2.26 / .58
• Nov. 18 - 2.23 / .56
• Nov. 25 - 2.17 / .54
• Dec. 2* - 902K / .25
• Dec. 9 - 2.31 million / .57
• Dec. 16 - 2.19 / .52
• Dec. 23 - 2.38 / .55
• Dec. 30 - 2.63 / .64
• Jan. 6, 2023 - 2.26 / .53
• Jan. 13 - 2.33 / .55
• Jan. 20 - 2.26 / .55
• Jan. 27 - 2.54 / .67
• Feb. 3 - 2.38 / .61
• Feb. 10 - 2.47 / .64
• Feb. 17 - 2.38 / .58
• Feb. 24 - 2.41 / .62
• Mar. 3 - 2.45 / .59
• Mar. 10 - 2.32 / .63
• Mar. 17 - 2.26 / .59
• Mar. 24 - 2.22 / .58
• Mar. 31 - 2.49 / .69
• April 7 - 2.47 / .69
• April 14 - 2.27 / .58
• April 21 - 2.18 / .54
• April 28 - 2.47 / .67
• May 5 - 2.06 / .52
• May 12 - 2.15 / .56
• May 19 - 2.13 / .53
• May 26 - 2.16 / .52
• June 2 - 2.56 / .73
• June 9 - 2.28 / .60
• June 16 - 2.43 / .67
• June 23 - 2.35 / .61
• June 30 - 2.51 / .69
• July 7 - 2.56 / .76
• July 14 - 2.31 / .62
• July 21* - 1.23 / .36
• July 28 - 2.32 / .61
• Aug. 4 - 2.25 / .62
• Aug. 11 - 2.1 / .55
• Aug. 18 - 2.09 / .55
• Aug. 25 - 2.65 / .78
• Sept. 1 - 2.44 / .65
• Sept. 8 - 2.09 / .53

* Aired on FS1

For complete results and this week’s SmackDown live blog click here. To read a recap & review of the night’s events click here. For video highlights of the show click here.