Tag: Wwe Smack Talk

Ratings for return of WWE on A&E programming block

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

WWE’s programming block on A&E returned on Sunday night, featuring a new season of Biography: WWE Legends and the premiere of two new series.

Sunday’s Biography: WWE Legends documentary on The Undertaker averaged 582,000 viewers on A&E. That’s down about 20 percent from the average of the eight episodes that aired during the first season in 2021. The only episode to finish with fewer total viewers was a Biography on Mick Foley, which averaged 520,000.

The Undertaker Biography finished 17th on the cable charts on Sunday with a 0.14 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down almost 50 percent from the 0.27 rating in that category that the first season averaged.

Immediately following the Undertaker special was the premiere of WWE Rivals, with the debut episode chronicling the feud between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. That show averaged 368,000 viewers overall and drew a 0.10 rating in 18-49, good for 29th on the cable charts.

The Biography documentary and WWE Rivals both finished fourth in their respective time slots.

WWE Smack Talk, which premiered following Rivals, averaged 222,000 viewers overall and drew a 0.07 rating in 18-49. That ranked 50th on the charts for the day and was also fourth in its time slot. Smack Talk is a post-show for Biography and WWE Rivals.

WWE on A&E programming block returning next month

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE’s original programming block is making its return to A&E next month.

It was announced today that nine weeks of all-new WWE-themed programming will air on A&E starting on Sunday, July 10. The programming block will include the second season of “Biography: WWE Legends,” a new show called “WWE Rivals,” and a new after show named “WWE Smack Talk.”

The Biography episodes will air on Sundays at 8 p.m. Eastern time. This season will have episodes focusing on The Undertaker, Goldberg, The Bella Twins, Lex Luger, Edge, Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, D-Generation X, and the first WrestleMania.

WWE Rivals will then air at 10 p.m. Eastern. The show will be hosted by actor and former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr.

Actor and former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. leads a roundtable discussion of WWE luminaries to delve into the storylines and dynamic characters behind the epic battles that built WWE. Each one-hour episode features archival footage from WWE’s library as well as interviews with the Legends involved and the Superstars who watched these rivalries unfold. Rivalries featured this season include ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin vs. The Rock, Bret ‘Hit Man’ Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker vs. Kane, John Cena vs. Edge and the ‘Monday Night Wars’ between WCW and WWE.

WWE Smack Talk will begin at 11 p.m. Eastern. Booker T, Peter Rosenberg, and Jackie Redmond will be the hosts of the half-hour after show. They’ll be joined by WWE legends, current wrestlers, and other celebrity guests to break down that night’s Biography and Rivals episodes. They will also reveal new information that didn’t make the cut.

WWE and A&E announced this March that they had agreed to an expanded multi-year extension of their programming partnership. The extension will include 130 hours of new WWE-themed programming airing on A&E.