Did Jinder Mahal Draw on "Smackdown"?

It…..worked? Over the last few weeks, Jinder Mahal has been one of the top stories on “Smackdown Live” and in the WWE in general. Despite being a jobber to the stars just two months ago, Mahal is now the reigning and defending WWE Champion. The big question is how well would he draw as champion.

As it turns out….not terribly. The first week’s viewership numbers are in and Mahal’s first night as champion actually took “Smackdown Live” to a five week ratings high, though the viewership wasn’t a huge success. According to Showbuzz Daily, this week’s show drew a .8 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 2.328 million viewers, up 18% and 7% over last week. The rating is the best since April 18 but the viewership is still lower than the May 9 episode.

Opinion: This receives the same response I give to “Impact Wrestling” every single time their ratings go up: “Well done. Now do it again.” Just popping a (very small) rating doesn’t mean the problems are fixed. It means they were alleviated for a single night. If Mahal is a ratings draw then great for him. However, I need a lot more proof than being able to beat some of the worst ratings the show has had in years.