One week before the two programs will battle head-to-head for thirty minutes, SmackDown and Rampage were both affected by the MLB playoffs.
SmackDown and Rampage went against the Major League Baseball playoffs with an ALDS and NLDS game.
The L.A. Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants game began at 9:30 p.m. ET against the final half-hour of SmackDown and all of Rampage averaging 3,982,000 and 1.08 in 18-49 to finish first on cable.
The Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays game went against all of SmackDown and Rampage with 2,618,000 viewers and 0.65 in 18-49 for second place on cable.
ESPN also had a pair of college football games going against both shows, so it was an exceptionally competitive night of sports.
Friday Night SmackDown finished with 2,142,000 viewers but fell to 0.52 in the 18-49 demographic. The viewership was only down 5 percent, but the demo rating dropped 16 percent from last week’s 0.62
SmackDown equaled the 18-49 rating of ABC’s Shark Tank for first among all network programs for Friday. SmackDown finished first among adults 18-34 with 0.33.
It was SmackDown’s lowest 18-49 rating since the July 9th edition of the show, which was the final week at the ThunderDome.
The show was advertised around the start of the King of the Ring and Queen’s Crown tournaments as well as a contract signing for Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, and Sasha Banks.
AEW Rampage was hit hard with 502,000 viewers and 0.17 in 18-49 as it fell to 15th on cable with the lowest figures in the history of the program.
Rampage dropped 19.3 percent in viewers and 32 percent in 18-49 for a show featuring a Philly Street Fight between Ricky Starks and Brian Cage, CM Punk wrestling Daniel Garcia, The Lucha Brothers defending the AEW Tag Team Championship, and a short match with Jade Cargill.
Rampage was hurt across the board including adults 18-34 dropping 47 percent from last week and men 18-49 declining by 35 percent.
This Friday, a “super-sized” edition of SmackDown will air from 8-10:30 p.m. ET on FS1 with the final 30 minutes going against the first half of a live episode of Rampage from Miami, Florida.
Below is a breakdown of the AEW Rampage demos from Showbuzz Daily:
ADULTS 18-49
This week: 0.17 (-32 percent)
FEMALES 18-49
This week: 0.11 (-21 percent)
MALES 18-49
This week: 0.24 (-35 percent)
ADULTS 18-34
This week: 0.08 (-47 percent)
FEMALES 12-34
This week: 0.07 (-36 percent)
MALES 12-34
This week: 0.11 (-27 percent)
ADULTS 25-54
This week: 0.20 (-31 percent)
ADULTS 50+
This week: 0.20 (-13 percent)
