WWE SmackDown on Fox Ratings Rise with John Cena's Return, Goldberg Appearance

John Cena's return to WWE programming on Friday's episode of SmackDown on Fox led to a significant increase in viewership compared to last week.

According to Showbuzz Daily, SmackDown averaged 2.717 million viewers during its two-hour broadcast, which was up from last week's 2.49 million. SmackDown was also No. 1 for the night in the 18-49-year-old demographic with a 0.8 rating.

Friday's SmackDown garnered the best viewership of the show in 2020 thus far and the third-best viewership since it debuted on Fox in October.

Cena's return was the main event segment of the show, and the reception was positive since the show took place in Boston, which is close to his hometown. When Cena announced he wasn't going to appear at WrestleMania this year, the crowd was clearly disappointed.

Then, when Cena was about to exit the stage, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt appeared and pointed the WrestleMania sign. Cena then tipped his cap, which signified that Cena vs. The Fiend was on for WrestleMania.

Cena's return wasn't the only major happening on SmackDown, as Bill Goldberg appeared after beating The Fiend for the Universal Championship at WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

Goldberg received a mixed reaction and said he wanted to find out who was next. At that point, Roman Reigns' music hit, and he stormed to the ring before declaring, "I'm next!"

As a result, both Cena vs. The Fiend and Reigns vs. Goldberg were made official for WrestleMania in Tampa, Florida, on April 5.

SmackDown also featured plenty of build toward the March 8 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, including the announcement of an Elimination Chamber match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, which will see The Miz and John Morrison defend against New Day, The Usos, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, Heavy Machinery and Lucha House Party.

Also, a contract signing was held for the Intercontinental Championship match between Braun Strowman and Shinsuke Nakamura, but a twist occurred when Sami Zayn got Braun to agree to defend the title in a three-on-one handicap match against Nakamura, Zayn and Cesaro.

After an action-packed SmackDown this week, next week's show will present fans with the final build prior to Elimination Chamber.  

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