WWE SmackDown Ratings Surge Ahead of Royal Rumble, Hits 2025 High with 1.57M Viewers

One Big Thing

WWE SmackDown scored its highest viewership of 2025 with 1,578,000 viewers for its January 31 episode, marking a significant boost ahead of the Royal Rumble premium live event.

By the Numbers

• Total viewers: 1,578,000 (8% increase from previous week)
• Key demo (18-49): 0.51 rating (16% increase from previous week)
• Highest total viewership since November 22, 2024
• Best demo rating since September 13, 2024

Show Highlights

• Damian Priest and LA Knight confronted The Bloodline
• Jimmy Uso defeated Carmelo Hayes
• Naomi secured a victory over Liv Morgan

Why It Matters

This ratings surge shows strong fan engagement heading into the Royal Rumble, one of WWE’s biggest annual events. The increase in both total viewers and key demographic numbers suggests effective storyline building and promotion leading into the premium live event.

Market Performance

SmackDown dominated Friday night television, ranking #1 in primetime across both cable and network programming. The show outperformed its main competition:

• NBA games on ESPN
• FOX News programming

Looking Ahead

These strong numbers set a positive tone for WWE’s 2025 television performance and suggest growing momentum for the Road to WrestleMania season.

What do you think contributed most to SmackDown’s ratings success: the Royal Rumble build-up or the featured matches? Share your thoughts in the comments below.