WWE SmackDown on Fox Ratings Drop for Elimination Chamber Go-Home Show

The viewership for Friday's episode of WWE SmackDown on Fox was down despite it being the final show before Sunday's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

According to Showbuzz Daily, SmackDown averaged 2.453 million viewers during its two-hour broadcast, which was a significant drop from last week's 2.687 million viewers. Friday's SmackDown also finished tied for second among the 18-49-year-old demographic with a 0.7 rating.

SmackDown took place in Buffalo, New York, and featured the return of the New World Order. Ahead of their induction into the WWE Hall of Fame next month, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman appeared on A Moment of Bliss to begin the show.

The trio of Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro interrupted the nWo, but intercontinental champion Braun Strowman took the heel group out ahead of their match at Elimination Chamber.

SmackDown ended with a tag team gauntlet match featuring all six teams set to compete in the Elimination Chamber match Sunday for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, with the winner securing the last entry into the chamber.

Heavy Machinery ran the table by eliminating The New Day, Lucha House Party, The Usos and The Miz and John Morrison, but they were finally stopped by Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.

Ziggler scored the pinfall after a superkick to Otis, which marked the continuation of their rivalry over their attempts to court Mandy Rose.

Other key moments on SmackDown included Bayley and Sasha Banks beating Naomi and Lacey Evans in a tag team match, Sheamus beating Apollo Crews and Daniel Bryan challenging Drew Gulak to a match at Elimination Chamber.

Also, the Firefly Funhouse returned, and it saw Bray Wyatt discuss his upcoming WrestleMania match against John Cena while referencing their previous WrestleMania encounter six years ago.

The ratings drop was expected since the likes of Cena, universal champion Bill Goldberg and Roman Reigns didn't appear after being on the show last week, but next week's SmackDown could rebound since it will feature Elimination Chamber fallout and further build toward WrestleMania.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).