WWE SmackDown Viewership for January 16 Sees Decrease After Cody Rhodes Declares Himself for the Royal Rumble

TLDR

The January 16, 2026 edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown averaged 968,000 viewers on USA Network, representing a 2.2% decrease from the previous week's 990,000 viewers. The episode featured Cody Rhodes declaring himself for the Royal Rumble after cutting a promo about Jacob Fatu costing him the WWE Undisputed Title, and Leon Slater answering Carmelo Hayes' United States Championship open challenge. SmackDown also saw a more significant 19.2% drop in the key P18-49 demographic, falling from a 0.26 rating to 0.21.