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What's the story?
SmackDown Live was a definite step up after Backlash and RAW, but very few people tuned in to watch the show. Not only was it the lowest watched episode of the year, the figure was so shockingly low that one has to go all the way back to the Halloween special episode last year.
The show featured Daniel Bryan and Rusev in the main event match. I'd like to thank Wrestling Inc. for the stats.
In case you didn't know...
This was a packed week of WWE action in terms of wrestling, right from Backlash to RAW to SmackDown Live and NXT. SmackDown Live dealt with the fallout from Backlash as well as the build to Money in the Bank through several qualifying matches.
One assumes that there was an overdose of wrestling in the past month, right from WrestleMania 34 to The Greatest Royal Rumble and then Backlash. It did not help matters that Backlash received bad reviews.
The heart of the matter
SmackDown Live only drew 2.293 million viewers. This is a very low number, and comes right after last week's dismal viewership of 2.436 million viewers. One assumes that the number took a massive hit because of the NBA Playoffs. One has to go back all the way to June 2017 to find a non-holiday episode that was rated lower.
SmackDown Live was number 10 in terms of viewership and lacked several big stars, such as Big Cass and Samoa Joe. Even AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura were only shown in backstage interview segments.
What's next?
WWE has a chance to bounce back when the action heads to the United Kingdom next week. Both brands have a chance to make things exciting. Will WWE pull up their socks for the UK?
Author's take
I love wrestling, but Backlash and the two shows that followed it really tested my patience. SmackDown Live was the best show of the lot, for me!
WWE can do wonders with the wealth of incredible talent in the current roster and I really hope they book these men and women to their fullest potential.
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