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WWE SmackDown Ratings Decline with Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler in the Main Event
May 2, 2020
WWE SmackDown's viewership continued to tumble for the fourth consecutive week and dropped below 2 million Friday for the first time since SmackDown moved to Fox in October.
According to Showbuzz Daily, the overnight numbers show that SmackDown averaged just 1.919 million viewers during its two-hour show, down 4.3 percent from last week's 2.005 million. SmackDown was also tied for fifth in the 18-49-year-old demographic Friday with a 0.5 rating.
A Money in the Bank ladder match qualifying bout between Otis and Dolph Ziggler headlined the show, with Otis winning and cementing his place in the ladder match at the May 10 Money in the Bank pay-per-view.
Otis vs. Ziggler wasn't the only Money in the Bank qualifying match, as Mandy Rose and Carmella also faced off for the opportunity to go for the Money in the Bank contract in the women's match. Carmella prevailed after Sonya Deville distracted Mandy.
Deville then brutally attacked her former best friend, which enraged Otis and gave him the motivation needed to get past Ziggler in the main event.
In another bout with Money in the Bank implications, Daniel Bryan and King Corbin did battle to open the show. Both Superstars will be part of the Money in the Bank ladder match, and they had a back-and-forth affair until Bryan won by disqualification when Corbin hit him with a ladder, and Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro then attacked Bryan.
Other key moments included The Forgotten Sons upsetting SmackDown tag team champions The New Day in a non-title match, Sheamus winning a squash match and both Bayley and Sasha Banks attacking Tamina backstage before Lacey Evans made the save.
The feud between universal champion Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt continued as well, with Wyatt making it clear during an episode of the Firefly Funhouse that he intends to take the title from Strowman at Money in the Bank.
With Money in the Bank now just over a week away, essentially everything from the SmackDown side is in place for the pay-per-view.
That means next week's go-home episode will likely be about putting on the finishing touches and compelling the fans watching from home to tune in.
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