WWE received their latest report card for the blue brand.
The overnight viewership numbers are in for last week’s episode of WWE SmackDown, and the blue brand saw a notable decline in its audience heading into the weekend.
According to figures released by Programming Insider, the October 3, 2025 episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown on the USA Network drew 1.030 million viewers, another big drop from the 1.238 million viewers that tuned in for the previous episode last Friday on September 26.
In the coveted 18–49 key demographic, the show posted a 0.23 rating, which was also down quite a bit from the 0.35 demo rating that the weekly Friday night blue brand prime time program drew the week prior.
Despite the drop, WWE SmackDown still managed to rank among the top cable programs that aired on Friday night, finishing third overall. The show trailed only Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on ESPN, which led the night on cable television in viewership with 1.858 million viewers and a 0.44 key demo rating, and College Football Scoreboard, which drew 1.218 million viewers and a 0.31 target demo rating. Both of those highly-viewed sports programs also both aired on ESPN.
It’s worth noting that these figures are part of Nielsen’s new “Big Data + Panel” measurement system, a revised methodology that industry insiders have pointed out tends to produce lower numbers for professional wrestling programming compared to the previous reporting system.
For those interested, you can read more about the Nielsen ratings changes and how they affect the pro wrestling shows here and here.
In related news, the top-five most viewed segments and match highlights on WWE’s official YouTube channel from the October 3 episode of WWE SmackDown on the USA Network are as follows:
- * FULL MATCH: Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed (1.4 million views)
* Tiffany Stratton and Stephanie Vaquer’s contract signing mayhem (482K views)
* Paul Heyman causes tension between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton (469K views)
* The Miz ambushes Carmelo Hayes (464K views)
* Damian Priest helps Sami Zayn defeat Aleister Black (427K views)
For those interested, you can check out our complete WWE SmackDown Results 10/3/25 here at WrestlingHeadlines.com.
Make sure to join us here at WrestlingHeadlines.com every Friday night at 8/7c for live WWE Friday Night SmackDown results coverage.
