WWE SmackDown averaged 1,064,000 viewers on July 3, marking a 12 percent drop from the prior week. The show posted a 0.25 rating in the 18-49 demographic, up 14 percent week over week. It still led cable in that demo despite the overall decline.
The episode followed Night of Champions and featured Sami Zayn's first television appearance with the Undisputed WWE Title. It was taped after Raw the previous Monday, with results and spoilers leaked in advance.
Competition from the FIFA World Cup contributed to the lower numbers. The final hour of SmackDown overlapped with a round-of-32 match between Ghana and Colombia that drew 10.3 million viewers.
Over the past year, SmackDown viewership has fallen 27 percent compared with July 2025, while the 18-49 demo is down 38 percent. The program has remained just above one million viewers for the past five weeks.
With the World Cup ending, the show is positioned to build toward SummerSlam without that head-to-head competition.
