WWE SmackDown And AEW Rampage Viewership On Opposite Trajectories

"WWE SmackDown" and "AEW Rampage" are essentially a tale of two Fridays. It's the best of times. It's the worst of times. It's cable ratings in 2022.

According to data shared by Wrestlenomics, the November 11 edition of "SmackDown" was viewed by an average of 2,264,000 people and ranked first on broadcast television overall. It's the highest total viewership for the show since October 14. "SmackDown" was seen by an average of 757,000 people in the 18-49 demographic, the largest share of that demographic since September 23.

This past Friday's "SmackDown" was up six percent in total viewership, while the P18-49 demographic rose 20 percent. The show was headlined by The Usos retaining their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship against The New Day. The match actually opened the show.

Meanwhile, November 11 was not as good an evening for AEW. "Rampage" fell to its lowest P18-49 rating since July 29, while total viewership was nearly equal to last week's edition. "Rampage" was viewed by an average of 456,000 total viewers, and 143,000 from the P18-49 demographic. The show ranked 55th in the P18-49 demographic, the second lowest ranking for that demographic, behind March 18's edition.

"Rampage" ran against ESPN's NBA coverage of the Memphis Grizzlies' win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, which began 15 minutes before "Rampage." The show was headlined by AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy defending the title against Lee Johnson, as well as the first round AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament matches which saw Brian Cage defeat Dante Martin to advance to the next round, where he will join Bandido, who triumphed over Rush.