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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
Last night’s episode of WWE Smackdown (4/16) on USA Network drew a 1.62 rating, right in line with the recent ten week rolling average of 1.61. The prior two weeks bookending WrestleMania drew 1.60 ratings, so this is a small notch above that for the second night of the Superstar Shake-up.
The peak rating this year was drawn on March 26 – a 1.69 rating. The average so far this year is 1.56, down from the 2018 average through this week of 1.81. One year ago this week, Smackdown drew a 1.81 rating. Two years ago it drew a 1.72 rating.
Viewership was 2.219 million.
If WWE is an era where people watch the brand out of habit, rather than follow wrestlers from brand to brand, the ratings should stay consistent. With Roman Reigns added to the show as a centerpiece babyface, ratings could go up starting next week and the gap between Raw and Smackdown should shrink over time.
RECOMMENDED: Raw Rating: Superstar Shake-up viewership compared to Raw, key metrics compared to past years