WWE SmackDown Ratings Stay Flat As NFL Preseason Preemption Continues In Some Markets

Despite hosting a celebration surrounding the final match of WWE Hall of Famer Edge's current contract, treated akin to a retirement on the program, "SmackDown" was barely able to pick up gains in its viewership from last week.

Wrestlenomics is reporting that "SmackDown" was viewed by an average of 2,094,000 viewers overall, a two percent rise from last week's edition. Viewership in the coveted P18-49 demographic was up a meager one percent with 723,000 viewers aged 18 to 49 tuning in for the former WWE Champion's match with Sheamus.

While the farewell to "The Rated R Superstar" wasn't able to lift viewership much, the match was still one of the most-viewed quarter-hours of the entire episode, with 2,138,000 tuning in for Edge's victory over Sheamus. The match was also the highest-rated segment amongst 18-49-year-old viewers. The most-viewed quarter-hour was the beginning of the show, which saw a bump in viewership due to "SmackDown" being pre-empted by NFL football.

"SmackDown" also featured a match between L.A. Knight and former WWE United States Champion Austin Theory. The show was kicked off by former "NXT" star Grayson Waller, who hosted an edition of "The Grayson Waller Effect" with the new U.S. Champion Rey Mysterio, who was interrupted by both Knight and Theory, as well as Adam Pearce. That led to the number one contender match between Knight and Theory, which was won by Theory.

While "SmackDown" may not have had the biggest bump in the ratings, it managed a slight rise, while last week's "Raw" sunk to its lowest viewership since June 12, and also featured a double-digit drop in viewership in the P18-49 demographic.