“WWE SmackDown” jumped within the rankings, albeit for a tragic reason because the blue brand’s stars and various legends paid tribute to Hulk Hogan, who died on the age of 71 last Thursday, to kick off the show with a 10-bell salute and length tribute package. The show saw its highest viewership since just before WrestleMania 41.
The July 25 episode of “SmackDown” earned a mean 1.707 million viewers, based on Wrestlenomics, citing Programming Insider. The show was primary within the ages 18-49 demographic for the night across cable and broadcast, with Celebrity Jeopardy coming in second. “SmackDown” earned a 0.48 rating. The July 25 episode was the best in total viewership because the April 18 “SmackDown” before WrestleMania, and the best rated within the demographic because the “SmackDown” following “The Showcase of the Immortals.”
The episode was up 10 percent in viewership from last week, with the July 18 episode pulling in a mean of 1,546,000 viewers. The episode also was up 23 percent over the trailing 4 weeks. The episode’s rating was only barely up from a 0.45 the previous week, perhaps on account of older viewers tuning in to look at WWE’s tribute to Hogan.
Along with the varied Hogan tributes throughout the night, the episode also saw Alexa Bliss tackle Roxanne Perez, Jelly Roll face-off against Logan Paul, and a six-team TLC match be made for SummerSlam after interference ended the WWE Tag Team Championship match pitting The Wyatt Sicks’ Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy against Rey Fenix and Andrade.