Tue Jan 14 20:00:00 UTC 2025: ## SmackDown Ratings Dip Slightly Against Cotton Bowl Juggernaut
**Portland, OR** – WWE SmackDown’s January 10th episode from the Moda Center in Portland drew a solid, yet slightly lower-than-average viewership, according to Programming Insider. The show averaged 1.436 million viewers on USA Network, a 6% decrease compared to the previous week and 1% below the four-week average. The key 18-49 demographic saw an even steeper decline of 11%, dropping to a 0.40 rating.
The dip is largely attributed to stiff competition from the highly-rated Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff game between Ohio State and Texas, which drew a massive 20.414 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN2. The football game’s viewership alone eclipsed the combined audience of all other primetime programs that night, including SmackDown, which placed second overall.
Despite the ratings drop, the Portland SmackDown episode featured several key moments leading up to the Royal Rumble. Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens engaged in a heated confrontation, Roman Reigns reiterated his intentions to win the Royal Rumble, and both Chelsea Green and Shinsuke Nakamura successfully defended their titles.
First Piper 