WWE SmackDown turned in its strongest numbers yet under Nielsen’s new ratings model.
Friday’s episode on USA Network averaged 1.21 million viewers, a 4.5% increase from last week. It’s also the highest audience the blue brand has posted since Nielsen rolled out its Big Data + Panel hybrid system earlier this fall.
SmackDown finished second on cable and third overall for the night, delivering a 0.29 rating in the 18–49 demo. That’s up 7.4% week-over-week and ties the best number the show has hit under the revamped methodology.
Nielsen’s switch on October 1 has hammered most wrestling programs, especially in 18–49, with steep declines across the board. The show also faced heavy competition, going head-to-head with a college football game on ESPN that led all of television with a 0.47 in 18–49.
When lined up against the same week in 2024, back when Nielsen was still using its traditional panel-only system, SmackDown was down 23.3% in total viewership and down 37% in 18–49.
WWE SmackDown on November 21 featured the surprise return of AJ Lee, as well as an appearance by WWE Raw Superstar Becky Lynch, with both joining opposing teams for the Women’s WarGames match at this Saturday’s WWE Survivor Series: WarGames premium live event at Petco Park in San Diego, CA.
Featured below is a look at the top five most-viewed videos from WWE’s official YouTube channel from the 11/21 episode, which continue to rack up strong numbers for WWE’s digital ecosystem:
- * Drew McIntyre massacres Cody Rhodes in vicious tour bus attack (1,100,000 million views)
* FULL SEGMENT: AJ Lee and Becky Lynch join WarGames (889,000 views)
* Cody Rhodes boosts Carmelo Hayes to a win over Bronson Reed (605,000 views)
* Cody Rhodes UNLEASHES on Bronson Reed and Paul Heyman (451,000 views)
* Penta beats Finn Bálor in The Last Time is Now Tournament (335,000 views)
If you missed the 11/21 episode of the weekly Friday night WWE on USA Network prime time program, fear not, as you can check out our complete WWE SmackDown Results 11/21/25 here at WrestlingHeadlines.com.
Make sure to join us here at WrestlingHeadlines.com every Friday night at 8/7c for live WWE SmackDown results coverage.
