With 2.5 Million in the Books, Triple H’s SmackDown Just Might Break This Long-Standing Record

The SmackDown show in Denver, Colorado, was a big hit as it had a special appearance from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who returned to WWE after four years. It also included a backstage moment between John Cena and The Rock to bring back nostalgia. As a result, TV ratings for the show are soaring high.

SmackDown under Triple H has been doing great numbers this year. With the show reaching a high number of 2.5 million views on many occasions, it might break a long-standing record in SmackDown’s history.

SmackDown is soaring high in viewership

WrestleOps posted on 19th September on X which highlighted the success of the blue brand this year. SmackDown has delivered great entertainment for its fans. The biggest catalyst for this has been Roman Reigns and The Bloodline saga with other stars and closely knit stories contributing to the show’s success this year.

Notably SmackDown has averaged over 2.5 million viewers for six different episodes this year, a five-year high. A tweet by WrestleOps read, “#SmackDown has averaged over 2,500,000 viewers now on SIX different occasions in 2023 alone. The most the product has achieved in a single year since 2018. And we’re still in the 3rd quarter of 2023.”

It was a reference to the soaring numbers SmackDown has recorded over the last few shows this year. Since 21st July, when they recorded 1,230,000 viewers with a 0.36 rating in the 18-49 age group, SmackDown has recorded over 2 million views on each episode. In fact, each of the episodes for SmackDown has recorded over 2,000,000 viewerships this year except for that July episode.

SmackDown has seen over six shows with over 2.5 million viewerships, the first of which happened on 27th January when the show achieved a rating of 0.67 in the 18-49 group. The other dates are 2nd June, 30th June, 7th July, 25th August, and 15th September. The biggest show of the year happened on 25th August when the show commemorated the demise of the late Bray Wyatt.

Read more: Dwayne Johnson Openly Exposed WWE’s Lack of Preparedness for His Return Segment on Live TV

Interestingly, SmackDown has recorded its highest numbers since 2018 and it has over a quarter of the year left more to do wonders. But what could be the reasons for such soaring numbers this year?

Superstars, Storylines, and John Cena help SmackDown rise

SmackDown had many of the top names in WWE this year. They drafted Roman Reigns, the biggest Superstar in the WWE along with Brock Lesnar. At the beginning of the year, they had The Bloodline and Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn too. The Women’s Division is filled with Bianca Belair, Asuka, Charlotte Flair, and Bayley who are the biggest names in the Women’s division apart from Rhea Ripley. Fan favorite LA Knight was also drafted to SmackDown.

SmackDown also had many compelling storylines throughout the year, including Zayn’s story with The Bloodline and his redemption. Asuka’s Championship match against Flair and Belair with a looming threat of Iyo Sky was another compelling storyline. Special appearance from John Cena along with The Rock has also helped the ratings.

Have you been impressed with SmackDown Show this year?

Watch this story: 50 Years of The Rock: Dwayne Johnson’s Greatest Achievements in WWE