The April 3 edition of “WWE SmackDown” disenchanted fans following the reveal of Pat McAfee as Randy Orton’s mystery caller, however it looked as if it would usher in fans because it delivered the best viewership of 2026.
“SmackDown” witnessed a giant jump in the typical viewership for the April 3 edition, with viewership growing to 1,508,000 viewers, from last week’s average of 1,308,000, “Programming Insider” reports. That is the primary time since September 2025 that the blue brand has crossed the 1.5 million mark in viewership. The previous couple of weeks has seen viewership climb for the Friday night show, with the March 20 edition coming near breaching the 1.5 million number, averaging 1.44 million.
While the typical viewership saw a 15% increase from the previous week, “Wrestlenomics” reported that the important thing 18–49 demographic rating doubled that growth, rising by 30% week over week. The rating for the April 3 show increased from 0.33 to 0.43, which can also be significantly higher than the four-week average of 0.31. That is by far the best rating for “SmackDown” in 2026, and the best because the aforementioned September 5, 2025 show, which garnered a 0.51 rating. The show ranked #4 on cable, behind NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament games that aired at the identical time.
Last week’s WWE SmackDown was a stacked show that began with Pat McAfee and Randy Orton attacking Cody Rhodes, who later got here out and cut a passionate promo. The show also featured tag team and United States Championship matches, with Damian Priest and R-Truth holding onto the previous, while Sami Zayn defeated Carmelo Hayes to maintain the latter.