Kevin Owens' return and a huge brawl boost ratings for WWE SmackDown

The overnight ratings for WWE SmackDown witnessed a small bump after this week's show.

The latest edition of the blue brand emanated from the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. The show featured two World Cup matches and a huge return. Several top stars such as Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Roman Reigns, and Ronda Rousey were also present for the episode.

SpoilerTV reported that the preliminary numbers for this week's SmackDown averaged around 2.130 million viewers. This was based on 2.146 million viewers in the first hour, while the second hour drew 2.107 million viewers. The numbers were up from last week's average of 2.115 million viewers in overnight ratings.

The show drew a rating of 0.50 in the key 18-49 demo.

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What happened this week on WWE SmackDown?

The show opened with The Brawling Brutes and Drew McIntyre delivering a message to The Bloodline. Sami Zayn interrupted the promo and guaranteed that his faction will walk out with a win at WarGames.

In a first-round World Cup match, Ricochet faced Mustafa Ali. The two high-flyers put on an exhilarating show and the One and Only picked up the win with the Shooting Star Press. Next, Karrion Kross picked up a win over Madcap Moss in a rematch from last week.

Bray Wyatt was out to "make amends" to the WWE Universe, but he was interrupted by LA Knight. During their brief exchange on the mic, Knight managed to slap Bray twice before leaving the ring.

Shotzi was in action next against Shayna Baszler with WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Ronda Rousey in her corner. Seeing Ronda's interference bother Shotzi, Raquel Rodriquez walked out to ringside to even the odds. The number one contender then picked up the win over Baszler with a quick rollup.

The New Day enlisted the help of Braun Strowman to go up against The Imperium in a six-man tag match. Strowman proved to be the difference maker as Xavier Woods pinned Ludwig Kaiser. In the main event, Sami Zayn was up against Butch in another SmackDown World Cup match.

The Brawling Brutes member picked up the win only for a brawl to erupt between the Brutes and The Bloodline. Roman Reigns then came down to the ring and laid waste to everyone with a combination of Superman Punches and Spears. Finally, Kevin Owens returned to SmackDown, revealing himself to be the fifth member of the Brutes. He landed a Stunner on Roman as the Bloodline was sent packing to close out SmackDown.

What did you think of this week's episode of WWE SmackDown? Sound off in the comments section below.

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