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WWE SmackDown Ratings Increase with New Day vs. Nakamura and Cesaro Featured
Ian Gavan/Getty ImagesFriday night’s episode of WWE SmackDown, headlined by a SmackDown Tag Team Championships match between The New Day and the team of Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro, saw its ratings increase.According to Showbuzz Daily, SmackDown’s two-hour episode on Fox averaged 1.905 million viewers, which was up 7.2 percent from last week’s 1.777 million. SmackDown also did…
Ian Gavan/Getty Images
Friday night's episode of WWE SmackDown, headlined by a SmackDown Tag Team Championships match between The New Day and the team of Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro, saw its ratings increase.
According to Showbuzz Daily, SmackDown's two-hour episode on Fox averaged 1.905 million viewers, which was up 7.2 percent from last week's 1.777 million. SmackDown also did a 0.5 rating in the 18-49-year-old demographic, which was joint-top for the night.
The SmackDown Tag Team Championships match was ruled a no-contest when the illegal man from each team refused to leave the ring before the referee's count, and SmackDown ended with Nakamura and Cesaro putting Kofi Kingston and Big E through a table, which could be a sign that they will do battle in a tables match at Extreme Rules.
SmackDown opened with a Miz TV segment in which The Miz and John Morrison interviewed Jeff Hardy and took several potshots at The Charismatic Enigma. The Miz suggested that Hardy should settle his score with Sheamus in a bar fight, and Hardy agreed.
Hardy also challenged either The Miz or Morrison to a match, and he went on to beat the former in a singles bout, which helped him gain some momentum ahead of his upcoming clash with Sheamus.
WWE also continued the build toward the Wyatt Swamp Fight between universal champion Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt at the Horror Show at Extreme Rules. While neither Strowman nor Wyatt appeared live, their title match at Money in the Bank, which was won by Strowman, was replayed on SmackDown.
The WWE women's tag team champions Sasha Banks and Bayley faced Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross in a non-title match as well. Bayley is set to defend the SmackDown Women's Championship against Cross at Extreme Rules, and she scored a confidence-building win with Banks against Bliss and Cross.
Perhaps the most bizarre aspect of the show was a karaoke sing-off hosted by Jey Uso that featured Naomi, Tamina, Dana Brooke and Lacey Evans signing their favorite WWE theme songs.
Naomi won thanks to her rendition of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes' theme, but she was attacked by Lacey Evans afterward. That led to a match between Naomi and Evans, but there was no definitive finish after Tamina and Brooke got involved.
A major announcement was made during a backstage interview featuring intercontinental champion AJ Styles, as it was revealed that he will defend the IC title against Matt Riddle on the next episode of SmackDown.
Riddle beat Styles in a non-title match in his official main roster debut, but with Riddle also involved in a feud with King Corbin currently, there is seemingly a strong chance that Corbin will get involved.
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