WWE Smackdown rating: Did Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther for the WWE Championship with Sami Zayn as special referee boost the numbers?

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

WWE Friday Night Smackdown finished with an average of 1.191 million viewers for USA Network, according to ProgrammingInsider.com. The number was up compared to the previous episode’s 1.089 million average viewership.

Powell’s POV: Friday’s Smackdown finished with a 0.25 rating in the 18-49 demographic, up from the previous week’s 0.24 rating. Smackdown ran against a FIFA World Cup game that averaged 8,740 million viewers for Fox. One year earlier, the June 20, 2025, Smackdown averaged 1.524 million viewers and a 0.38 rating for USA Network.

(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)