John Cena's return and Uncle Howdy boost WWE SmackDown to its best viewership in two years

The final WWE SmackDown of 2022 saw a big boost in the ratings thanks to John Cena's return to the ring.

Big Match John teamed up with Kevin Owens to battle Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn of The Bloodline in the main event. Cena and Owens picked up the victory and celebrated with the crowd at the Amalie Arena in Tampa as Friday's show went off the air.

According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, this past Friday's edition of the blue brand garnered 2.629 million viewers. SmackDown also scored a 0.64 in the key 18-49-year-old demographic.

WWE Smackdown, Friday on Fox (8-10pm):
2,629,000 viewers
P18-49 rating: 0.64
#7 in P18-49 among broadcast primetime and cable originals

AEW Rampage, Friday on TNT (10-11pm):
470,000 viewers
P18-49 rating: 0.12
#28 cable original in P18-49
📊 patreon.com/wrestlenomics https://t.co/TJmQaggnoC

Brandon Thurston added that it was the highest-rated episode of SmackDown since the Christmas Day episode in 2020, which had an NFL game leading into the show. Last Friday's SmackDown had its largest audience total since the October 11, 2019 episode, which was only the second edition of the blue brand on Fox.

Highest Smackdown viewership since Christmas 2020 w/ NFL game lead-in. Excepting that, highest since Feb 2020.

Highlights of Cena's match has over 5 million views on YouTube.

📋 Full report:
patreon.com/posts/76747224… https://t.co/vkZAr4iEVQ

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Uncle Howdy appears on WWE SmackDown

John Cena's epic return to the company wasn't the only thing of note that happened on Friday.

Charlotte Flair also made her triumphant return and captured the SmackDown Women's Championship from Ronda Rousey. The Baddest Woman on the Planet had just successfully defended her title against Raquel Rodriguez, but The Queen challenged Ronda to an impromptu title match. Ronda couldn't resist and Flair quickly won the match after hitting a big boot to Rousey's face.

Elsewhere on the card, Solo Sikoa defeated Sheamus and The Bloodline attacked after the bell. Drew McIntyre also returned to save The Celtic Warrior. McIntyre has been out of action since WWE Survivor Series.

A very bizarre segment kicked off Friday's show. LA Knight confronted Bray Wyatt, but the two were once again interrupted by Uncle Howdy. Everyone expected the mysterious figure to attack Knight, but he opted to beat Bray Wyatt down instead as LA Knight was confused ringside. Wyatt and Knight are scheduled to battle in a Pitch Black match at Royal Rumble on January 28th.

WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!?!

#SmackDown https://t.co/lenXLKnn5l

John Cena was able to preserve his streak of wrestling in at least one WWE match a year by competing on the December 30th episode of SmackDown. It will be interesting to see if Cena and Uncle Howdy will compete in the men's Royal Rumble match later this month.

Who would you like to see John Cena battle at WWE WrestleMania 39? Do you have a guess on the identity of Uncle Howdy? Let us know in the comments section below.