WWE started its WrestleMania weekend with Friday Night SmackDown ranking first on cable.
The go-home episode before ‘Mania 42 from Las Vegas averaged 1,580,000 viewers and 572,000 viewers (0.42) in the 18-49 demographic on the USA Network. The audience grew by 12%, and the 18-49 audience grew by 17% from the previous week.
It was SmackDown’s largest audience of the year and highest since September 5, 2025. The 18-49 audience was only a two-week high from the April 3 episode, featuring the reveal of Pat McAfee.
In the key demo, male viewership grew by 13% to 350,000 viewers, and female viewers rose by 19% to 207,000.
The show topped Gold Rush on Discovery, Gutfeld! on Fox News, and RuPaul’s Drag Race for the top spot on cable Friday night. It ranked first among adults 18-49, 18-34, and 25-49 on cable.
Adults 18-34 grew from 0.18 to 0.24, and 25-54 moved from 0.51 to 0.57.
On Netflix, the show appeared in the top ten in Canada, Bolivia, and Trinidad & Tobago.
Data: Programming Insider & Wrestlenomics
