WWE SmackDown's overnight viewership increases immensely for post-Hell in a Cell episode
The viewership of the post-Hell in a Cell episode of WWE SmackDown increased immensely as the show returned to air on FOX.
As per Showbuzz Daily, the October 30th episode of SmackDown drew an average of 2.133 million viewers overnight. It is a very high figure compared to last week's episode on FS1 that drew 881,000 viewers.
The first hour of the show drew 2.115 million viewers, before the second and final hour garnered 2.151 million viewers. This week's average viewership was also higher than the Season Two premiere episode on FOX two weeks ago that averaged in 2.124 million viewers.
The TV ratings of this week's episode also fared considerably better, as it scored a 0.6 rating in the key 18-49 demographic and tied for the No. 1 position for the night along with "Shark Tank". This is higher than last week's TV ratings on October 23rd, that got a 0.23 rating.
The possible reason as to why Friday's SmackDown episode increased in ratings might have to do with the fact it was the episode after Sunday's Hell in a Cell PPV. Also, the show returned to its usual network on FOX and the viewers followed.
What happened on SmackDown this Friday?
Friday Night SmackDown witnessed the fallout from Hell in a Cell 2020. The night started with WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns ordering his cousin Jey Uso to either "fall in line" or get ex-comunicated from the family, since he lost to Reigns in an "I Quit" match at Hell in a Cell.
However, Jey refused to acknowledge Reigns as The Tribal Chief and accused him for using his brother Jimmy Uso to make him say "I Quit." He then expressed his hatred for the Universal Champion and broke down crying in the middle of the ring.
During the main event of the show, Jey took on Daniel Bryan in a match where the winner would earn a spot in the men's team for the upcoming Survivor Series event.
With Reigns and Paul Heyman watching from ringside, Uso defeated Bryan and shocked the WWE Universe by turning heel and aligning himself with Reigns. He confirmed his turn by taking out Bryan with vicious attacks after the match.
Other matches from the night also saw Superstars qualifying for their Survivor Series teams to represent SmackDown in the 5-on-5 traditional elimination tag team match against RAW. Kevin Owens and Bianca Belair qualified for the men's and women's team of the blue brand respectively.