Bloodline drama draws a massive rating for SmackDown

Over the weekend, there were reports that preliminary numbers for the June 2 episode of SmackDown were huge.

That made sense, as this was a big episode — especially for what many consider to be wrestling’s best story in ages. Roman Reigns’ celebrated 1,000 days as Universal champion, and as a reward was presented with a new belt by Triple H. This in the wake of an eventful Night of Champions, where he & Solo Sikoa failed to win the WWE Tag titles from frequent foes Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn because Jimmy Uso turned on his Tribal Chief.

But overnight ratings aren’t always accurate, so we were anxiousky awaiting today’s final numbers. With those in hand, we have no choice but to acknowledge the drawing power of the Bloodline.

Friday night’s show was watched by 2,563,000. That’s SmackDown’s biggest audience since John Cena’s return last December. Among 18-49 year olds, WWE scored a massive .73 rating. That not only was the highest number on all of television for the night (a night, we should note, that didn’t feature an NBA or Stanley Cup Finals game), but the best SmackDown’s done in more than two years. And not counting the NFL-inflated number the blue brand got for their Christmas 2020 episode, you have to go back three years — to the first pandemic shows without fans in March of 2020 — to find a better demo rating.

In case you’re tempted to give credit for this number to someone other than the Head of the Table (YEAH), let Wrestlenomics, Brandon Thurston talk to ya...

This week’s show is not on Reigns’ schedule, so it won’t have the same firepower. It will also have competition from game four of what now looks like a competitive Denver Nuggets/Miami Heat basketball series. WWE’s probably going to soak this one in for a little bit before they worry about that though.

Here’s a rundown of the past year’s worth of SmackDown’s numbers:

• June 3 - 1.94 / .47
• June 10 - 1.91 / .44
• June 17 - 2.29 / .57
• June 24 - 2.23 / .53
• July 1 - 2.14 / .49
• July 8 - 2.13 / .47
• July 15 - 2.08 / .47
• July 22 - 2.26 / .62
• July 29 - 2.19 / .52
• Aug. 5 - 2.09 / .49
• Aug. 12 - 1.93 / .44
• Aug. 19 - 2.08 / .47
• Aug. 26 - 1.99 / .48
• Sept. 2 - 2.08 / .49
• Sept. 9 - 2.37 / .57
• Sept. 16 - 2.21 / .50
• Sept. 23 - 2.54 / .63
• Sept. 30 - 2.21 / .54
• Oct. 7 - 2.24 / .54
• Oct. 14 - 2.27 / .54
• Oct. 21 - 2.23 / .52
• Oct. 28* - 835K / .23
• Nov. 4 - 2.14 million / .48
• Nov. 11 - 2.26 / .58
• Nov. 18 - 2.23 / .56
• Nov. 25 - 2.17 / .54
• Dec. 2* - 902K / .25
• Dec. 9 - 2.31 million / .57
• Dec. 16 - 2.19 / .52
• Dec. 23 - 2.38 / .55
• Dec. 30 - 2.63 / .64
• Jan. 6 - 2.26 / .53
• Jan. 13 - 2.33 / .55
• Jan. 20 - 2.26 / .55
• Jan. 27 - 2.54 / .67
• Feb. 3 - 2.38 / .61
• Feb. 10 - 2.47 / .64
• Feb. 17 - 2.38 / .58
• Feb. 24 - 2.41 / .62
• Mar. 3 - 2.45 / .59
• Mar. 10 - 2.32 / .63
• Mar. 17 - 2.26 / .59
• Mar. 24 - 2.22 / .58
• Mar. 31 - 2.49 / .69
• April 7 - 2.47 / .69
• April 14 - 2.27 / .58
• April 21 - 2.18 / .54
• April 28 - 2.47 / .67
• May 5 - 2.06 / .52
• May 12 - 2.15 / .56
• May 19 - 2.13 / .53
• May 26 - 2.16 / .52
• June 2 - 2.56 / .73

* Aired on FS1

For complete results and this week’s SmackDown live blog click here. To read a recap & review of the night’s events click here. For video highlights of the show click here.

Numbers via Wrestlenomics