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The ratings for this week's WWE SmackDown are in, and it is not good news for the blue brand.
This week's SmackDown saw the surprise return of John Cena. He booked himself for a tag team match with Kevin Owens to face Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn on the December 30 episode of the show. The blue brand also featured an Intercontinental Title bout between Ricochet and Gunther and the debut of Uncle Howdy, who appeared in person.
As per Brandon Thurston of WrestleNomics, SmackDown took a dip in the ratings this week. The blue brand brought in 2.191 million viewers this past Friday, down from the 2.306 million that tuned in last week.
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In the key 18-49 year old demographic, SmackDown scored 0.52, which is another drop from last week's 0.57 rating in the key demo. SmackDown was ranked number two among cable originals behind the NBA on Friday night.
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What happened on the latest edition of WWE SmackDown?
Last Friday's edition of WWE SmackDown was a big show that featured the return of Roman Reigns and two title matches.
In the first match of the night, Damage CTRL's Dakota Kai and IYO SKY defended the Women's Tag Team Championship against Tegan Nox and Liv Morgan. A masked superstar attacked Nox during the match, and it was later revealed to be Xia Li. Damage CTRL retained their Women's Tag Team Championship.
LA Knight marched to the ring and demanded answers from Bray Wyatt. Knight claimed he knew that Wyatt was the one attacking him backstage. The former Universal Champion came to the ring, and Knight attacked him. Uncle Howdy appeared on the entrance ramp, and LA retreated out of fear.
Gunther put the Intercontinental Championship on the line against Ricochet on the blue brand. Ricochet won the SmackDown World Cup to earn another shot at The Ring General, but it was not meant to be. Gunther put Ricochet away with a Powerslam to retain the title.
Imperium attacked The One and Only after the match, but Braun Strowman made the save. Ricochet and Strowman will battle Imperium in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight this Friday.
Viking Raiders, Legado Del Fantasma, and Hit Row battled in a Triple Threat match to determine the number one contenders for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship. Hit Row emerged victorious and will face The Usos for the titles this Friday.
Roman Reigns returned in the final segment of the latest episode of SmackDown. Sami Zayn was in store for a big night, but it never came to fruition. John Cena interrupted on the jumbotron to announce that he will be teaming up with Kevin Owens against The Tribal Chief and the Honorary Uce on the final episode of WWE SmackDown of the year.
John Cena and Roman Reigns in a match will likely lead to a big number for the December 30 edition of WWE SmackDown. Time will tell if the company can capitalize on that momentum as 2023 begins.
Are you excited for Hit Row versus The Usos this Friday? Let us know in the comments section below.
