Sami Zayn wins US title as SmackDown ratings slide

Sami Zayn captured the WWE United States Championship and John Cena apologized to a young fan during Friday night’s go-home edition of SmackDown taped in Lyon, France, but the episode also registered a steep drop in U.S. viewership. The August 29 program, recorded earlier in the day at the LCDC Arena and streamed live overseas before its U.S. broadcast on the USA Network, saw Zayn defeat Solo Sikoa in the main event to win the title for the first time in his career.

The show opened with an in-ring exchange between Logan Paul and Cena, who traded barbs while promoting their upcoming match at Clash in Paris. Other segments included Street Profits defeating Carmelo Hayes and The Miz to earn a tag title shot, Alexa Bliss defeating Chelsea Green, and a scheduled women's tag defense that was altered after a backstage attack left Charlotte Flair unable to compete. A confrontation between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton also drew attention during the broadcast. Cena’s on-air apology to the Brussels fan referenced a viral moment from earlier this year in which he had targeted the child during a heel promo.

Industry ratings trackers reported that the episode averaged 1.147 million viewers...