WWE SmackDown Outdraws AEW Rampage In Viewership, Shows Tie In Key Demo Ratings

Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics has the viewership details for Friday’s editions of WWE SmackDown and AEW Rampage. SmackDown brought in 866,000 viewers for a special two-and-a-half-hour edition of the show on FS1, while AEW Rampage notched 578,000 viewers in its normal 10 to 11 PM ET timeslot on TNT.

In the key 18 to 49 demographic, SmackDown posted a 0.24 rating, and Rampage earned the exact same with a 0.24 rating itself.

While the ratings were the same, Thurston reports that SmackDown edged out Rampage with 314,000 viewers to 313,000 viewers in the demo. Pro Wrestling Torch notes that Rampage earned a 0.34 to 0.32 edge over SmackDown in the 18 to 49 male demo.

According to Showbuzz Daily, SmackDown ranked No. 3 on cable and Rampage ranked No. 4.

SmackDown featured a contract signing between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks, and much more.

Rampage, which also had a “Buy-In” special featuring Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki prior to the start of the official show on TNT, featured CM Punk vs. Matt Sydal, The Inner Circle vs. Men of the Year and Junior Dos Santos, and much more.

The MLB playoffs on FOX led the way on TV on Friday with 6.1 million viewers and 1.40 rating in the demo.