Report: Backstage Reaction To WWE SmackDown Ratings

WWE held their post-Night of Champions edition of Friday Night SmackDown on June 2 and the show was built around the celebration of Roman Reigns passing 1,000 days as Universal Champion. It also emerged ahead of the show that WWE were going to combine the WWE and Universal title belts to establish an Undisputed WWE Universal Championship belt. 

Overnight ratings noted SmackDown was up significantly from the week before, averaging 2.46 million viewers. It was the highest preliminary number for SmackDown since August 19, 2022. SmackDown also drew a 0.7 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, which was above the final 0.52 rating for last week's episode from the blue brand. 

The preliminary ratings drew a positive reaction in WWE, with the company said to be "very happy" about SmackDown's viewership, according to Fightful Select. 

Beyond the Roman Reigns celebration, LA Knight and Zelina Vega qualified for Money in the Bank ladder matches, while Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson defeated Hit Row.