By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
The Friday, October 23 WWE Friday Night SmackDown averaged 1.1 million viewers for USA Network, according to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics.com. The number was down compared to the previous episode’s 1.327 million average. SmackDown finished with a 0.24 rating in the 18-49 demographic, down compared to the prior week’s 0.32 rating.
Powell’s POV: SmackDown ran against the first game of the World Series, which averaged 12.26 million viewers across Fox Sports, Fox Deportes, and Univision. One year earlier, the October 24, 2025, SmackDown averaged 1.147 million viewers and a 0.29 rating for USA Network for a show that ran against Game 1 of the World Series.
(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 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.)
