The numbers are in for the Friday Night Wars.
According ShowBuzzDaily, WWE SmackDown scored 866,000 viewers for Friday's show on Fox Sports 1. The number is well down from the prior week, which aired on FOX and drew 2.034 million. The last time WWE SmackDown was on Fox Sports 1 was December 18, 2020 and the show drew 1.030 million viewers.
WWE SmackDown scored a 0.24 rating (314,000 viewers) in the 18 to 49 demographic.
Friday's episode of SmackDown was a Super SmackDown edition with the show running an extra half hour.
The final 30 minutes went head-to-head with AEW Rampage, which drew 578,000 viewers, up from the 502,000 viewers the show scored the prior week. Rampage also posted a 0.24 rating (313,000 viewers) in the 18 to 49 demographic.
WWE SmackDown finished third on cable while AEW Rampage finished fourth.
According to PWTorch, AEW Rampage outdrew WWE SmackDown head-to-head in the 18 to 49 demographic. AEW Rampage drew 328,000 viewers in the demo while SmackDown drew 285,000 viewers.
According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, WWE SmackDown won the overall viewership head-to-head scoring 878,000 viewers compared to Rampage's 602,000 viewers.
Tony Khan gave the following reaction:
LET’S GO @AEW FANS, WRESTLERS, STAFF! EVERYONE, LFG #AEW!!!! https://t.co/CMAT5F0jCd
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) October 18, 2021
Top 5 Most Viewed WWE SmackDown (10/15) Videos on YouTube
- Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns contract signing (3.5 million views)
- Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks (789,000 views)
- Naomi vs. Sonya Deville & Shayna Baszler (698,000 views)
- Street Profits vs. The Usos (490,000 views)
- Edge promises to scar Seth Rollins inside Hell in a Cell (408,000 views)
Top 4 Most Viewed AEW Rampage (10/15) Videos on YouTube
- The Buy In with Danielson vs. Suzuki (918,000 views)
- CM Punk vs. Matt Sydal (573,000 views)
- Inner Circle vs. Junior dos Santos & Men of the Year (372,000 views)
- Ruby Soho vs. The Bunny (170,000 views)
Keep up with all the television ratings in the world of wrestling by utilizing Fightful's resources section.
You can find Fightful's coverage of WWE SmackDown by clicking here and Fightful's coverage of AEW Rampage by clicking here. You can check out the post-show podcast for a review of both shows by clicking here.
