WWE Smackdown Viewership & Ratings Report: 8/29/25

Since moving off of Fox to the USA Network, "WWE SmackDown" has seen its numbers go down, though not in a way that's drawn attention like "WWE Raw's" move to Netflix has. For the most part, "SmackDown" has remained in the 1.4 to 1.6 million viewership range, give or take a few hundred thousand viewers. Recently though, the competition has gotten tougher recently thanks to the NFL preseason and college football, and "SmackDown's" numbers have taken a dip as a result.

That was a trend that continued this past weekend. Wrestlenomics and Programming Insider report that the August 29 edition of "SmackDown" drew 1.147 million total viewers, and 0.28 in the 18-49 demographic. Total viewership was down 9% from the previous week's 1.258 million, while 18-49 fell a whopping 20% from 0.35. Both numbers were even more down against the four week average, with total viewership falling 21% from 1.447 million, while 18-49 plummeted 32% from 0.41.

While numbers for the August 22 episode had been concerning, this past weekend will raise even more eyebrows, as the numbers represent the lowest non-preemption total viewership in "SmackDown" history, and the second lowest non-preemption 18-49 numbers since a "Best of" show in December 2023. The only positives were that "SmackDown" remained #2 in 18-49 on cable for the evening, and #3 between cable and network TV, behind college football on ESPN and Fox. 

As "SmackDown" took place overseas in France, the show aired hours after being taped in the US; it's not clear if results being available contributed to the lower ratings. Serving as the go-home show for Clash in Paris, the big story coming out of "SmackDown" was Sami Zayn defeating Solo Sikoa to win the WWE United States Championship. It's Zayn's first reign as champion, and his first singles title since holding the Intercontinental Championship for four months last year.