WWE Smackdown rating: Big numbers for the November 8 edition

Friday's WWE Smackdown scored a 2.08 rating, up from last week's 1.9 rating. The show averaged 2.946 million viewers, up from last week's 2.730 million viewers.

Powell's POV: This was WWE's highest rated episode since March 22 (in the thick of WrestleMania season). Smackdown was the No. 1 show in the male 18-34 demographic. It is worth noting that ESPN did not televise and NBA game on Friday night. The previous week, ESPN scored 2.4 million viewers for a Friday night game. Even so, WWE has to be pleased by the big boost that the show received this week from the return of John Cena to their Friday night broadcast.