Coming off a disappointing post-Elimination Chamber, the WWE got some good news this week when Smackdown drew 2.792 million viewers. This is up 6.3% from last week’s 2.626 million. This week’s episode featured a Falls Count Anywhere match between Nikki Bella and Natalya plus a 10-man battle royal to crown a new #1 contender to WWE Champion Bray Wyatt.
In comparison, Monday’s RAW drew 3.216 million viewers, up from last week’s 3.087 million viewers. It’s possible the ratings jumped so much this week because so many Smackdown superstars had a chance at becoming the number one contender. It will be interesting to see if the controversial ending to this week’s battle royal will entice more viewers to tune in to see Luke Harper and AJ Styles next week or not.
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While many assume Luke Harper is the natural choice to be inserted into the Mania Championship match with his former Wyatt family leader, some of the element of surprise has been taken away with him not winning the battle royal cleanly (even though we all know he won it cleanly).
Some are suggesting WWE officials could be having second thoughts on Harper’s involvement and used the extra week to consider putting AJ into the main event slot. Regardless, it’s widely rumored that Randy Orton will soon insert himself back into the main event, making it a triple threat.
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