The Rock’s appearance on a recent edition of SmackDown helped WWE etch their names into the history books.
With The People’s Champion and Roman Reigns announced for the February 16th show ahead of time and with the wrestling world talking about the events of the hectic WrestleMania press conference the week prior, a large rating was expected. However, thanks to the star power of the show and some last-minute changes to scheduling, the show did even better than many expected.
As reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, SmackDown drawing a key demographic rating of 0.75 was the highest for any network show in the week beginning February 12th. This is notable as this is the first time that professional wrestling has been the highest-rated show in the 18-49 age range in the history of TV ratings:
For the first time in the history of television ratings, which date back to the late 1940s, a pro wrestling television show finished first for the week in network ratings.
Smackdown on 2/16, featuring the first advertised appearance of The Rock on a WWE television show in years, did 2,555,000 viewers and an 0.75 in 18-49. The total viewer numbers were actually only sixth place for the night and nowhere near the top. But the 18-49 number topped the Thurday night premiere episode of the season of Ghosts (0.67) and Young Sheldon (0.63) on CBS for the top spot of the week.
It is noted that SmackDown did not win the highest rating for all of television as NBA programming drew a higher rating the next day, but this was on cable and not network television. Additionally, the change in nights of the Daytona 500 also helped SmackDown secure the top spot:
WWE was very lucky because the win was due to two things. The first was that the NBA All-Star activity was on cable and not network TV. Smackdown was actually No. 3 on television for the week behind All-Star Saturday night at 1.55 and the All-Star game on Sunday which also did a 1.55. It was notable that the Saturday skills competition very slightly beat the game itself in 18-49.
The other bit of luck was the Daytona 500 that was scheduled for 2/18, was moved to 2/19, which would be covered in next week’s ratings. The race did 5.96 million viewers and an 0.85, and the post-race show on FOX beat it at 0.88. So Smackdown would look to have little chance of repeating this week. Those numbers would have been significantly higher on Sunday as scheduled and knocked Smackdown down to No. 3 for the week.
The Rock Addresses Upcoming WWE Premium Live Event
Following on from The Great One’s recent appearance on the February 16th SmackDown and possible follow-up appearance on the pre-taped episode that airs on the 23rd, the next appearance from the Hollywood megastar remains unknown. While there are rumours surrounding an appearance in Australia, The Rock set the record straight in regards to WWE Elimination Chamber.