As a result of the election coverage, this week’s edition of SmackDown Live in Glasgow did 1.921 million viewers (as per showbuzzdaily.com), down from the 2.187 million viewers it drew from last Tuesday. This is the lowest number of viewers that the show has garnered this year.
The second lowest viewership number the show did was on June 9th, which drew 1.996 million viewers. The June 9th edition had taken place before the show switched to its live format.
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This past week’s SmackDown Live was technically pre-taped as well since it was in Glasgow. Due to the time difference, the show was taped, so that it was convenient for the local attending audience to watch, while still airing at the same time for the audience in the United States.
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The main match this week on SmackDown Live was Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss, for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. The bout was Becky’s first title defence, and although she won the match, it was a controversial one.
When Becky locked Alexa Bliss with the dis-arm-her, Alexa’s foot was on the rope. The referee did not notice this, so when Bliss tapped, he declared Lynch, the victor. The finish was likely done so that the feud can proceed after Survivor Series.
Cage Side Seats reported that the two are expected to have another match at TLC on December 4th. There is no word on whether there is going to be a stipulation on the match or not.
Next week, the SmackDown Live viewership is not only likely to increase but soar higher, and be one of the highest rated Smackdown Live episodes since the draft, for a few reasons. One of the reasons is that the entire Presidential election is over.
Secondly, it is the 900th edition of Smackdown Live, and it is going to see three notable things – The return of WWE Hall Of Famer Edge, who will host The Cutting Edge, the return of The Undertaker, and an Intercontinental Championship match between The Miz and Dolph Ziggler.
In the latter match, GM Daniel Bryan informed The Miz that if he loses to Ziggler, he will get traded to Raw, either for Sami Zayn or Cesaro.
While the episode was well received, one of the critiques the show got was that they constantly advertised the Women’s Championship match as the “main event” of the show, while having it at the half-way point.
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