“WWE SmackDown’s” viewership for the show before Saturday Night’s Most important Event saw a slight increase, but the important thing demographic rating declined.
The July 17 show, held in Albany, Recent York, drew average viewership of 1,243,000, up from the previous week’s 1,212,000, a slight 3% increase, in accordance with “Programming Insider.” The figure was also barely above WWE’s four-week average of 1,203,000, in accordance with “Wrestlenomics.” The news wasn’t as positive for WWE in the important thing 18-49 demographic, because the rating fell from 0.24 to 0.21. The show’s trailing four-week average before last week’s episode was also 0.24, indicating that the July 17 edition fell below recent trends. Nonetheless, despite the autumn, “SmackDown” was #1 for the night on cable within the rankings.
Each metrics saw year-over-year declines when comparing the July 2026 and July 2025 numbers, with average overall viewership down 16% and the important thing demographic rating falling a whopping 43%, in accordance with “Wrestlenomics.”
Last week’s show was an action-packed one and the ultimate stop before Saturday Night’s Most important Event, with a brawl between Cody Rhodes and GUNTHER to open the show, with the 2 eventually facing within the principal event where Rhodes got the win. There was also a qualifier for the WWE Women’s Championship Ladder match, where Tiffany Stratton got the higher of Jacy Jayne, while Jade Cargill won against Nia Jax in the opposite qualifier.