WWE SmackDown ratings up big for WrestleMania go-home show

Friday night's WrestleMania go-home episode of WWE SmackDown averaged 2.6 million viewers on Fox, up 18.1 percent from the previous week. It's the best audience total for the show since August 25 of last year (which was a tribute to Bray Wyatt and Terry Funk).

SmackDown topped all of network television, more than doubling the closest competition, with a 0.77 rating in the 18-49 demo. That's up 28.3 percent from last week and is also the highest rating the show has done since the August 25 episode.

These strong numbers came despite the fact that the women's Final Four March Madness game between Iowa and UConn set a record for a women's basketball game with over 14 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN2, airing head-to-head with SmackDown.

As compared to the same week in 2023, SmackDown's viewership was up 5.4 percent while its 18-49 rating was up 11.6 percent. That was the post-WrestleMania episode of the show, which is usually one of the highest rated of the year.

Listed below are the last 11 weeks of overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for SmackDown, as well as the 10-week average in both categories. This week's show was up 8.7 percent in overall viewers and up 13.2 percent in 18-49 as compared to the recent averages.