The May 29 edition of “WWE SmackDown” may have still drawn over a million viewers, but the go-home show to WWE Clash In Italy was down in both viewership and ratings. After a show packed with matches, the main event angle saw the final showdown between GUNTHER and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes to end the episode ahead of their match at the premium live event.
According to Wrestlenomics, with data from Programming Insider, while “SmackDown” was ranked fourth for the night on cable TV on May 29, the show drew 1,096,000 viewers, down 13 percent from 1,258,000 the previous week. The show earned a 0.23 rating in the ever-important ages 18-49 demographic, down 21 percent from the 0.29 rating the week prior.
The May 2026 average “SmackDown” viewership of 1,194,000 was down 14 percent compared to the previous year’s average of 1,383,000. The average viewership for May, 0.26, was down 28 percent from last May’s average of 0.36.
In addition to GUNTHER and Rhodes’ face-off, the show saw Jade Cargill defeat Alexa Bliss, Spain’s own Axiom topple The Miz in his home country, and Royce Keys and one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest lose to Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, thanks to some interference by Solo Sikoa.
United States Champion Trick Williams appeared, with rapper Lil Yachty once again by his side, to continue setting up his feud with Carmelo Hayes. A match between Hayes and Ricky Saints, who has also been gunning for the US title, then ended in a double count-out.
