WWE SmackDown Ratings Decline Despite Edge vs. Jey Uso; Reigns-Bryan Segment

Friday night's go-home episode of SmackDown prior to Sunday's WWE Fastlane pay-per-view saw its ratings decline from last week.

According to Showbuzz Daily, SmackDown averaged 1.945 million viewers during its two-hour broadcast on Fox, which was down from last week's 2.010 million. SmackDown also scored a 0.5 rating in the 18-49-year-old demographic, which was No. 2 on the night.

Friday's show faced some stiff competition in the form of the first round of the 2021 NCAA men's college basketball tournament.

SmackDown featured Edge's first blue-brand match in 10 years, as he faced Jey Uso in the main event with the winner going on to serve as the special enforcer for Sunday's Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan.

Edge defeated Uso with a spear to earn the distinction, but it was Reigns who stood tall, as The Tribal Chief took Edge and then Bryan out with spears of his own to close out the show.

Earlier in the night, Reigns had interrupted a Bryan promo and told his challenger he would rather die than tap out to him, but Bryan promised he will beat him for the title.

SmackDown also saw the continuation of the storyline involving SmackDown women's champion Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair and WWE women's tag team champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax.

Banks beat Jax to retain the SmackDown women's title after botched interference from Baszler, and then Belair and Baszler fought to a draw later in the night when they were attacked by Natalya and Tamina. Adding to the drama was the fact that both Nia and Sasha left ringside during the match.

The Boss and The EST will challenge Baszler and Jax for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships at Fastlane before facing each other for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 37.

The heated rivalry between intercontinental champion Big E and Apollo Crews reached another level as well, with Big E attacking Crews after an interview segment. They will also clash Sunday at Fastlane with the IC title on the line.

Other key SmackDown moments included Shinsuke Nakamura attacking Seth Rollins, leading to a match at Fastlane, plus Sami Zayn losing to King Corbin and then attacking Kevin Owens on commentary.

Also, Rey and Dominik Mysterio upset The Street Profits before losing to Otis and Chad Gable, meaning there are three teams in the conversation to challenge Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania.

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