Overnight ratings for the January 7 episode of SmackDown released

The overnight ratings for 2022's first episode of SmackDown have been released.

The latest episode of SmackDown emanated from the Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT. The first SmackDown of the year featured the fallout from WWE Day 1.

According to the latest reports by Spoiler TV, SmackDown on FOX averaged 2.16 million viewers in the overnight ratings. The first hour of the show peaked at 2.247 million viewers, while during the second hour, the viewership dropped by about 7.7% to 2.073 million.

In the target 18-49 demographic, SmackDown scored a 0.55 rating and was at number 3 for the night, behind Shark Tank and 20/20. The first hour of the show averaged a rating of 0.6 while the second hour managed a 0.5 rating in the 18-49 demo.

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What happened this week on SmackDown?

This week's show started with Roman Reigns making a comeback after COVID-19 kept him away from Day 1. He was interrupted by Brock Lesnar, who challenged the Tribal Chief for a Champion vs. Champion showdown. Reigns refused the challenge. In the war of words that followed, a conflicted Paul Heyman tried to bring peace between the two men. Roman took this opening to hit a Superman punch on Lesnar.

In a singles competition, Rick Boogs defeated Sami Zayn with a rollup pin. Johnny Knoxville then eliminated Sami Zayn over the top rope and it was announced that Knoxville would be a part of the Royal Rumble. Charlotte Flair announced a few participants for the women's Royal Rumble match. She inserted herself into the match, claiming she'd win the event and choose her opponent for WrestleMania.

Naomi then had a matchup with Charlotte but came up short as WWE official Sonya Deville kept changing the stipulations. A Happy Talk segment followed where Corbin and Madcap Moss made fun of Drew McIntyre. The Viking Raiders then faced the duo, but Madcap Moss picked up the victory for the wisecracks.

The Usos won a hard-fought street fight match against New Day and retained the SmackDown tag titles. In the closing segment, Seth Rollins met Roman Reigns and laughed maniacally, indicating he'd be The Tribal Chief's next challenger.