Roman Reigns' absence impacts the March 11 SmackDown overnight ratings
WWE SmackDown viewership took a dip in the latest overnight ratings for the March 11 episode.
This week's episode of the blue brand emanated from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, AL. The show featured appearances from Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, and Charlotte Flair. The WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns was missing from action.
Spoiler TV reported that SmackDown averaged a total of 2.133 million viewers this week. This was slightly lower than last week's overnight ratings of 2.14 million. The ratings were based on a steady viewership of 2.133 million viewers for both hour one and hour two of the show. The blue brand drew a rating of 0.5 in the key 18-49 demographic.
What happened this week on SmackDown?
After the events that transpired at Madison Square Garden, Brock Lesnar made it clear that he cared for nothing more than getting retribution against Roman Reigns. He wanted to start with this week's episode of SmackDown.
In response, Paul Heyman emerged and informed Lesnar that Reigns was not on the show. A furious Lesnar then chased his former advocate to the back before Heyman escaped in a car.
RUN, PAUL, RUN! 😱
#SmackDown @BrockLesnar @HeymanHustle https://t.co/yoJfjsMvBc
It was a bad night for the New Day as Big E suffered a broken neck after a stiff belly-to-belly suplex at ringside. Sheamus and Holland defeated the New Day, and the newest member of Sheamus' entourage, Butch, laid a beatdown on Kofi Kingston after the match.
A six-man tag team matchup turned into a 4-on-1 beatdown for Drew McIntyre when Corbin, Madcap, Jinder Mahal, and Shanky assaulted the former champion. McIntyre, however, held his own and sent everyone packing, sending a strong message to his WrestleMania opponent Happy Corbin.
Rousey and Charlotte Flair once again came face-to-face in the ring. The confrontation ended with Charlotte promising to make Rousey tap out before the night was over. In tag team action, Sasha Banks and Naomi defeated Natalya and Shayna Baszler.
Rick Boogs defeated Jey Uso in a singles match to ensure that he and Nakamura get a shot at the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania. Pat McAfee and Austin Theory also got into a brawl after the latter slapped the headset off McAfee again.
In a rematch for the Intercontinental title, new champion Ricochet managed to hold his own against Sami Zayn. Ricochet hit the gravity-defying 630 splash on Zayn to pick up the win.
#AndSTILL!
#SmackDown #ICTitle @KingRicochet https://t.co/6jR3oGl4yP
The show closed with a brutal parking lot brawl where Charlotte Flair suplexed Ronda Rousey on the hood of a car and clinched her in an excruciating submission hold.
What did you think of this week's? Sound off in the comments below.