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As WWE moves closer to their annual Crown Jewel Premium Live Event on November 2, the October 18 edition of "WWE SmackDown" offered up several high-profile moments. Roman Reigns acknowledged Solo Sikoa, Cody Rhodes vowed to become the inaugural WWE Crown Jewel Champion, and the Motor City Machine Guns made their long-awaited WWE debuts. But how many people tuned in to the USA Network to see this happen?
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According to "Wrestlenomics," the October 18 episode of "SmackDown" averaged 1,378,000 viewers. This is a 17 percent drop from the previous week's 1,652,000 figure, with that episode being spearheaded by Jimmy Uso's in-ring return against Sikoa. The show also saw a 12 percent drop off from the trailing four-week average that currently sits at 1,558,000 viewers. The show was also the least-watched episode of "SmackDown" since WWE's blue brand returned to USA Network in September, and the least-watched episode of the show in 2024 so far.
The key 18-49 demographic also dropped this week as the October 18 episode earned a 0.42 number, down 14 percent from the 0.49 number the October 11 episode earned. 0.42 is also 9 percent below the average of the trailing four weeks, and marks only the second time since moving back to USA where "SmackDown" didn't place first for the evening in primetime telecasts.
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According to the "Programming Insider," "SmackDown" ranked third on cable behind the MLB playoff game between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians on TBS, and the MLB National League Championship Series post-game show on FOX Sports 1. Overall "SmackDown" placed sixth in the demographic for the entire day on cable, and fourth for the primetime hours in the demographic when including network telecasts, beating game four of the WNBA finals on ESPN.

