Triple H praises Cody Rhodes after SmackDown hits ratings low

WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque publicly backed Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes amid negative press after a recent ratings decline for one of its signature shows.

On Wednesday, it was reported that last Friday’s episode of SmackDown averaged 1.03 million viewers on the USA Network — a sharp decrease from the previous week’s 1.24 million viewers. This marks the show’s lowest viewership since returning to USA and the lowest overall since November 29, 2023, when it aired on FS1 due to Fox’s college football coverage, according to the Wrestling Observer.

As the story spread, Levesque took to social media to praise Rhodes.

“People only see results… they don’t see what it takes to achieve them,” wrote Levesque while sharing a photo of Rhodes in a gym. “Fourteen hours to Dubai. Find a gym in the airport… grind 10 more to Perth. Straight to ESPN hit… meet Make-A-Wish families.”

Referring to Rhodes by his nickname, QB1, Levesque added, “What it takes to be a WWE Superstar. Thank you to all. (Sorry, Cody Rhodes, felt like I needed to share.)”

The timing of Levesque’s post was hard to ignore.

SmackDown‘s record-low rating comes after Nielsen — the media research firm that measures television audiences — announced in early September that it was moving to a new model of tracking viewership. Both WWE and AEW have taken a direct hit as a result, seeing a startling decline in numbers after the change.

But ratings aren’t the only concern. Last week’s show at Cincinnati’s Heritage Bank Center also saw a steep dip in attendance.

Per online ticket tracker WrestleTix, WWE distributed 7,246 tickets for the event — well below the 12,286 Raw drew in the same venue in February. WrestleTix also noted that last year’s SmackDown drew a sold-out crowd of over 13,000.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown
Fri • Oct 03, 2025 • 7:30 PM
Heritage Bank Center, Cincinnati, OH

Available Tickets: 507
Current Setup: 7,753
Tickets Distributed: 7,246

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