The overnight ratings are in for Friday night's episode of SmackDown, and it's actually good news (of a sort) for WWE. The latest instalment of the blue brand's show drew 2.174 million viewers, a slight increase from the previous Friday's 2.089 million viewers.
Hour one drew 2.217 million viewers, before the second hour dipped to 2.076 million viewers.
With a limited roster thanks to those positive COVID-19 tests, SmackDown was touted as a "Tribute Show" to The Undertaker following his apparent retirement during the final episode of Undertaker: The Last Ride on the WWE Network. The first hour featured a number of video messages from various Superstars and WWE Hall of Famers discussing his legacy, while the entire "Boneyard Match" from WrestleMania was also shown.
SmackDown pulled in an average 0.50 rating in the 18 - 49 demographic making it #1 for the night. It was once again #8 for the night in terms of viewership on the networks, and while this is good news for WWE, ratings are still on the decline and not at the level that they were before the pandemic.
What did you guys think about Friday's episode of SmackDown paying tribute to the Deadman's legendary career?