The ratings for the October 15th WWE super-sized SmackDown and AEW Rampage have been revealed. The average viewership for SmackDown was 866,000 while Rampage drew an average audience of 578,000. The numbers have been reported by Brandon Thurston from Wrestlenomics:
WWE Smackdown on FS1 (8:00-10:30pm)
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) October 18, 2021
Total: 866,000
P18-49: 0.24 rating (#3 among cable originals on Fri)
AEW Rampage on TNT (10-11pm)
Total: 578,000
P18-49: 0.24 (#4)
📊 More details & analysis: https://t.co/0wZqJDhjTx
SmackDown has seen a major drop compared to the previous week, which saw 2.034 million viewers tune in to the blue brand. The drop calculates to approximately 57% compared to the October 8th edition. While the drop is a big one, it should be noted that SmackDown was aired on a different channel to usual. Friday Night SmackDown aired on FS1 instead of the usual home of FOX Sports due to the MLB playoffs taking place. AEW Rampage saw an increase in viewers, with the 578,000 rating being an increase of 15% compared to the previous week of 502,000
In regards to the key demographic ratings, both SmackDown and Rampage obtained a 0.24 rating, equating to 313,000 viewers.
October 15th was a significant date in regards to programming for both brands, with AEW and WWE countering each other’s moves in an attempt to gain viewers. Firstly, WWE announced an extra 30 minutes for SmackDown, which competed with the first half of Rampage. To counter this, All Elite Wrestling announced a buy-in for Rampage, featuring the dream match between Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki. PW Torch are reporting that in the half hour head to head, AEW had more viewers than WWE:
We're obtained a new key ratings detail on Friday: #AEW #Rampage beat #WWESmackdown in head-to-head 30 minutes in the most coveted 18-49 demo – 328,000 to 285,000. Rampage led with Punk match, Smackdown featured Becky-Sasha and Lesnar. More details here:https://t.co/5b4ch7vmLW
— Pro Wrestling Torch (@PWTorch) October 18, 2021
The buy-in for AEW Rampage took place on YouTube, so does not factor into the cable numbers. At the time of writing, around 965,000 viewers have viewed the buy-in on YouTube:
Featured image: WWE
