The total viewership and demo ratings for the latest instalment of Friday Night SmackDown have been revealed.
As reported by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, the July 22nd episode of Friday Night SmackDown pulled in an average of 2,256,000 viewers with a 0.62 rating in the 18-49 year-old demographic.
By comparison the July 15th episode of the show drew 2,077,000 viewers with a 0.47 rating in the above demographic.
The July 22nd episode of Friday Night SmackDown was the first WWE show since Vince McMahon announced that he was retiring from his role as CEO and Chairman of the Board. As a result, co-CEO and new Chairwoman Stephanie McMahon opened the show with an address to fans.
In a short segment, an emotional Stephanie led a “thank you Vince” chant in honour of her father.
The other big talking point on the show was the status of Brock Lesnar. It was reported prior to the show that upon hearing the news of Vince McMahon’s departure, The Beast walked-out, leading to a frantic re-write of the show. However, Lesnar appeared following the main event to attack and lay out Theory.
Elsewhere on the show Maxxine Dupri made her debut as part of Maximum Male Models.
SmackDown Ratings
| Date & Episode | Viewership |
| 22/07/2022 Stephanie McMahon open | 2,256,000 |
| 15/07/2022 Jimmy Uso vs. Angelo Dawkins | 2,077,000 |
| 08/07/2022 Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus | 2,129,000 |
| 01/07/2022 Money In The Bank go-home | 2,142,000 |
| 24/06/2022 McIntyre & Sheamus vs. The Usos | 2,231,000 |
| 17/06/2022 Vince McMahon Promo, Brock Lesnar return | 2,389,000 |
| 10/06/2022 Riddle vs. Sami Zayn | 1,914,000 |
| 03/06/2022 The Usos vs. Riddle & Shinsuke Nakamura | 1,939,000 |
| 27/05/2022 New Day & Mystery Partner vs. Brawling Brutes | 1,878,000 |
| 20/05/2022 Tag Team Unification Match | 2,031,000 |
| 13/05/2022 RK-Bro/Bloodline Confrontation | 1,893,000 |
| 06/05/2022 RK-Bro, Drew McIntyre & The Bloodline Face to Face | 1,998,000 |
| 29/04/2022 Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn (Cage Match) | 1,953,000 |
| 22/04/2022 Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn | 1,952,000 |
| 15/04/2022 RK-Bro/The Usos segment | 2,142,000 |
| 8/04/22 Post-WrestleMania SmackDown | 2,230,000 |
| 1/04/22 WrestleMania SmackDown | 2,359,000 |
| 25/03/22 Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar confrontation | 2,180,000 |
| 18/03/22 Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey confrontation | 2,147,000 |
| 11/03/22 Ricochet vs. Sami Zayn | 2,226,000 |
| 4/03/22 Ronda Rousey vs. Sonya Deville | 2,261,000 |
| 25/02/22 Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar contract signing | 2,114,000 |
| 18/02/22 Roman Reigns, Goldberg face-to-face | 2,173,000 |
| 11/02/22 Naomi vs. Charlotte Flair | 2,231,000 |
| 04/02/22 Rousey-Flair Faceoff | 2,151,000 |
| 28/01/22 Roman-Seth Faceoff, Naomi vs. Sonya | 2,217,000 |
| 21/01/22 Usos vs. Seth & Owens | 2,255,000 |
| 14/01/22 Seth and Roman Faceoff. | 2,174,000 |
| 07/01/22 Usos vs. New Day Street Fight, Brock-Roman Face-off | 2,271,000 |