>
PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
Tuesday night’s WWE Smackdown Live (Apr. 18) drew a live and same-night-DVR rating of 1.72, well below the 2017 average of 1.86. It’s the lowest rating since Dec. 13 when Smackdown drew a 1.71. Total viewership was 2.544 million.
The ten-week average headed into this week was 1.87.
The rating is barely above the year-ago number when Smackdown wasn’t live and didn’t have exclusive use of 40 percent of the roster.
Keller’s Analysis: This is a sharp dropoff, perhaps due the reality sinking in for John Cena fans that he’s gone. It doesn’t reflect well on the inherent following of Charlotte, Kevin Owens, or Sami Zayn, nor the in-show enthusiasm for Jinder Mahal winning the Six-Pack Challenge or sticking around for the A.J. Styles vs. Baron Corbin main event. It’s just one week, but it’s an ominous sign of how the post-Superstars Shake-up era for Smackdown will go. That said, Shinsuke Nakamura is just getting started.