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While fans got to see the immediate fallout of WWE SummerSlam on the August 5 edition of "WWE Raw," everyone had to be a little more patient for the aftershocks of its main event, which saw the return of Roman Reigns. The Tribal Chief cost Solo Sikoa his SummerSlam match against Cody Rhodes, and his appearance on the August 9 edition of "WWE SmackDown" was the first time Reigns had been on TV since before WrestleMania 40. The question is: how many people tuned in to see the return of the Head of the Table?
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According to Wrestlenomics, the August 9 edition of "WWE Smackdown" had an increase in viewership, averaging a total of 2,269,000 viewers. This is a 4% increase on the 2,179,000 viewers that tuned in to SmackDown on August 2, which was headlined by The Bloodline capturing the WWE Tag Team Championships from #DIY. The show also saw an increase in the key 18-49 demographic, with "SmackDown" earning a 0.64 number on August 9, a 7% increase on the 0.60 number earned the previous week.
While viewership did increase for "SmackDown," the show was hampered by the one major event that has dragged the ratings of virtually every other TV show down in recent weeks, the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. According to Programming Insider, "SmackDown" placed third for the evening behind NBC's coverage of the Olympics, which placed first and second respectively, in the 18-49 demographic for all prime time shows that aired on August 9, and placed sixth in terms of total viewers behind both the Olympics, and the three shows that aired on FOX News between 8PM and 11PM. With the Olympics now over, "SmackDown" will be looking to earn some strong ratings ahead of their permanent move to the USA Network in September.
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