Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will air live from the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
WWE has not announced any matches for tonight’s SmackDown, but a teaser for the show asks if The Bloodline can maintain control over the new era of the blue brand.
“In the wake of King Woods & Sir Kofi’s victory over SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in a Champion Contender Match, can Universal Champion Roman Reigns and The Bloodline maintain their stronghold on the blue brand? Find out this Friday at 8/7 C on USA,” WWE wrote.
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns did not appear on last week’s SmackDown broadcast, but he did work the dark main event. It’s likely that he will be back on TV this week.
Sheamus is rumored to return to action on tonight’s SmackDown. He recently underwent another surgery for his broken nose, and is scheduled to be back to work this week. The Celtic Warrior was recently drafted back to the blue brand, and was featured in a recent backstage vignette.
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown will air on FS1 due to MLB World Series coverage on FOX. The show will air live from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
WWE has not announced any matches for tonight’s show, but they are advertising that the new era will continue from last week.
Superstars advertised to appear by WWE tonight include WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, The New Day, Sheamus, Cesaro, and Drew McIntyre. The arena also has WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura listed, plus a dark main event with Reigns and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. McIntyre and The Street Profits.
Last week’s SmackDown featured teaser promos from blue brand newcomers Ridge Holland, Aliyah, Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo, and Sheamus, so it will be interesting to see if they are used on tonight’s show.
Tonight’s show should also see the arrival of a new blue brand ring announcer as Greg Hamilton was released this past week. There is no word on who will replace him.
FS1 will air two encore presentations of SmackDown tonight. The first replay will go head-to-head with AEW Rampage. SmackDown will air on FS1 from 8pm until 2am tonight.
WWE has reportedly released SmackDown’s ring announcer, Greg Hamilton.
WWE has parted ways with ring announcer Greg Hamilton. The reason for his departure remains unclear at this time.
2021 has been an incredibly busy year for WWE when it comes to releasing its employees. More than 50 have been shown the door already during this calendar year, and it seems you can now add another name to that list. According to PWInsider, Greg Hamilton, the ring announcer for SmackDown on Friday nights, has been let go.
The news comes after Hamilton removed any mention of WWE from his Twitter bio earlier this week and made his account private. Fans who noticed that wondered whether Hamilton had been released by WWE and apparently, that is indeed the case. Hamilton’s Instagram page still reads he is a WWE employee and links to his company page at this time.
The reason why Hamilton has been released from his contract currently remains unclear. However, the timing of it seems incredibly coincidental. The announcer was involved in quite a public clash with rapper Westside Gunn. Gunn is a big wrestling fan and used a sample of Hamiltion’s voice on one of his latest tracks.
Gunn didn’t clue Hamilton in on this beforehand, angering the announcer. Hamilton publicly threatened legal action on Instagram via a number of posts and replies to comments that have since been deleted. At one point, Hamilton threatened Gunn by saying if he didn’t contact him and his lawyer to settle and resolve the issue, he would employ the help of WWE’s lawyers instead and take the rapper to court.
Again, it is currently unclear why WWE has released Hamilton. His recent comments towards Gunn might be completely unrelated. It’s also possible Hamilton requested his release from the company, although it’s unclear why he would do that. Unless the two things are linked and the announcer didn’t have the backing of his employers after threatening to use their legal team for all to see on social media.
Earlier today, Hamilton posted a statement, calling his release “a mutual respect departure.” Hamilton noted family is his priority and being on the road all year was too much.
“After six years and 52 weeks a year, it’s time to say ‘goodbye,’” Hamilton wrote. “First and foremost, don’t let the internet or social media gas you up; this was a mutual respect departure from a great company. Nothing but respect from both sides. It’s business. Also understand that what you see on social media is exactly that. It’s not real life. Especially for your favorite Superstars. They are human beings with real lives, and INCREDIBLE human beings. The hate, the bullying…that is read and internalized by real human beings…not characters. That needs to be said for my friends.
“And as I get older, my mother is in her 70’s; my sister Jessi, who has cerebral palsy…those are my priorities. Not chasing fame, not being on television. 52 weeks a year became too much. Without our mental health, we have nothing. But man…what a ride. There are truly no fans like the #WWEUniverse. Wow. Six continents over six years; embracing your love and passion has truly changed me as a person. I am forever grateful.”
Hamilton worked for the NBA’s Orlando Magic and the Miss America organization before coming to WWE, and did other TV work for FOX, NBC and CBS in various key markets.
No word yet on who will replace Hamilton on SmackDown going forward.
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will take place from the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas with fallout from Thursday’s WWE Crown Jewel event.
WWE is hyping that a new era of SmackDown will begin tonight as changes from the 2021 WWE Draft officially go into effect today. Several new blue brand Superstars will be featured on tonight’s show, including Drew McIntyre, The New Day, Jeff Hardy, Hit Row, Ridge Holland, Shayna Baszler, Sheamus, Xia Li, Shotzi Blackheart, Ricochet, Mansoor, Mustafa Ali, MACE, Jinder Mahal, Shanky, The Viking Raiders, Humberto Carrillo, Angel Garza, Aliyah, Drew Gulak, and RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair. It will be interesting to see if WWE swaps the women’s titles between Flair and SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, who is now on RAW.
WWE is also teasing Brock Lesnar for tonight’s SmackDown. WWE noted after Crown Jewel how Lesnar was heard saying he planned to beat WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns senseless as soon as he got to the show tonight.
WWE has not announced any matches for tonight’s SmackDown as of this writing.
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California will be a special Supersized edition that airs on FS1 due to the MLB airing on FOX. The episode will air for 2 hours and 30 minutes with the last half hour airing commercial-free.
Jeff Hardy recently appeared on The Culture State Podcast from WRAL Sports in North Carolina, and teased that his masked Willow The Wisp character may be returning in the near future.
One of the hosts recalled seeing Hardy as Willow on an indie event in Greensboro, North Carolina years ago. Hardy said he’s having a new Willow mask being made, and has talked about bringing the character back before his career is over.
“Speaking of Willow, I was just talking with the guy that makes these masks, who made it back then,” Hardy said. “He’s such an awesome mask maker and that’s now making this new Willow mask, and we were talking about the possibility of Willow entering the scene once again before my career is over.”
The hosts commented on how exciting that would be and Hardy added, “Yeah, there we go. It’s gonna happen.”
Hardy was sent to SmackDown from RAW in the WWE Draft this past week. He lost to WWE United States Champion Damian Priest on this week’s RAW, and was then interviewed by Sarah Schreiber in the ring. During that interview, the WWE Legend said going to SmackDown might be the perfect time to see a different side of Jeff Hardy, or a different ego.
The promo on RAW and Hardy’s recent interview comments have led to speculation that we may see a version of Willow on SmackDown.
Hardy will remain on RAW for the next few weeks until the WWE Draft changes officially go into effect on Friday, October 22. He was attacked by new RAW Superstar Austin Theory on Monday’s show, which may set up a future match between the two.
Hardy wrestled as Willow years ago before signing with WWE, when he and brother Matt Hardy formed their own indie promotion in North Carolina, OMEGA. He later wrestled as Willow at ROH’s 2003 Death Before Dishonor event, defeating Joey Matthews and Krazy K in a Three-Way Dance. Hardy then brought the Willow character to TNA from February – June 2014, losing to Nick Aldis at Slammiversary XII. He also briefly appeared as Willow during the “Wolf Creek Match” in October 2016 when the Broken Hardy program was going on in Impact Wrestling.
Below are the results from night 2 of the 2021 WWE Draft, that took place Last night on RAW and RAW Talk.
WWE DRAFT PICKS FROM NIGHT 2 ON RAW:
ROUND 1 * RAW picks SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch to come over from SmackDown * SmackDown picks SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos to stay on SmackDown * RAW picks Bobby Lashley and MVP to stay on RAW * SmackDown picks Sasha Banks to stay on SmackDown
ROUND 2 * RAW picks Seth Rollins to come over from SmackDown * SmackDown picks WWE Intercontinental Champion King Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs to stay on SmackDown * RAW picks WWE United States Champion Damian Priest to stay on RAW * SmackDown picks Sheamus to come over from RAW
ROUND 3 * RAW picks AJ Styles and Omos to stay on the show * SmackDown picks Shayna Baszler to come over from RAW * RAW picks Kevin Owens to come over from SmackDown * SmackDown picks Xia Li to come over from WWE NXT
ROUND 4 * RAW picks Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins to come over from SmackDown * SmackDown picks Erik and Ivar of The Viking Raiders to come over from RAW * RAW picks Finn Balor to come over from SmackDown * SmackDown picks Ricochet to come over from RAW
ROUND 5 * RAW picks Karrion Kross to stay on RAW * SmackDown picks Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza to come over from RAW * RAW picks Alexa Bliss to stay on RAW * SmackDown picks Cesaro to stay on SmackDown
ROUND 6 * RAW picks Carmella to come over from SmackDown * SmackDown picks Ridge Holland to come over from NXT * RAW picks Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson * SmackDown picks Sami Zayn to stay on the show
MONDAY NIGHT PICKS FROM RAW TALK: * RAW picks Dana Brooke to stay on RAW * RAW picks Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode to come over from SmackDown * RAW picks Jaxson Ryker to stay on RAW * RAW picks Veer to stay on RAW * RAW picks Liv Morgan to come over from SmackDown * RAW picks Mia Yim (fka Reckoning) to stay on RAW * RAW picks Tamina Snuka to come over from SmackDown * RAW picks Tegan Nox to come over from SmackDown * RAW picks Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander to stay on RAW * RAW picks The Miz to stay on RAW * SmackDown picks Jinder Mahal and Shanky to come over from RAW * SmackDown picks Natalya to stay on SmackDown * SmackDown picks Shotzi Blackheart to stay on SmackDown
WWE Draft changes will officially go into effect with the October 22 edition of SmackDown, which is the night after WWE Crown Jewel.
Based on only the WWE website rosters, below are the updated lists of RAW and SmackDown rosters, and free agents, coming out of the 2021 WWE Draft. The list of free agents is based off Superstars who were not drafted on Friday or Monday, and excluding a few names like Maryse and Paige for obvious reasons.
There’s still no word on how WWE plans to swap the RAW and SmackDown Women’s Titles.
FREE AGENTS: * Asuka * Bayley * Brock Lesnar * Elias * Eva Marie * Gran Metalik * John Cena * Lacey Evans * Lince Dorado * Shane McMahon * Slapjack (Shane Thorne) * Titus O’Neil * The Undertaker
RAW: * AJ Styles * Akira Tozawa * Alexa Bliss * Angelo Dawkins * Apollo Crews * Austin Theory * Becky Lynch (SmackDown Women’s Champion) * Bianca Belair * Big E (WWE Champion) * Bobby Lashley * Carmella * Cedric Alexander * Chad Gable * Commander Azeez * Damian Priest (WWE United States Champion) * Dana Brooke * Dolph Ziggler * Dominik Mysterio * Doudrop * Drake Maverick * Edge * Finn Balor * Gable Steveson * Jaxson Ryker * John Morrison * Karrion Kross * Keith “Bearcat” Lee * Kevin Owens * Liv Morgan * Mia Yim * Montez Ford * MVP * Nia Jax * Nikki A.S.H. (WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion) * Omos * Otis * R-Truth * Randy Orton (RAW Tag Team Champion) * Reggie (WWE 24/7 Champion) * Rey Mysterio * Rhea Ripley (WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion) * Riddle (RAW Tag Team Champion) * Robert Roode * Seth Rollins * Shelton Benjamin * T-BAR * Tamina Snuka * Tegan Nox * The Miz * Veer * Zelina Vega
SMACKDOWN: * AJ “Top Dolla” Francis * Aliyah * Angel Garza * Ashante “Thee” Adonis * “B-Fab” Briana Brandy * Cesaro * Charlotte Flair (RAW Women’s Champion) * Drew Gulak * Drew McIntyre * Erik * Happy Baron Corbin * Humberto Carrillo * Isaiah “Swerve” Scott (WWE NXT North American Champion) * Ivar * Jeff Hardy * Jey Uso (SmackDown Tag Team Champion) * Jimmy Uso (SmackDown Tag Team Champion) * Jinder Mahal * King Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Intercontinental Champion) * Kofi Kingston * MACE * Madcap Moss * Mansoor * Mustafa Ali * Naomi * Natalya * Rick Boogs * Ricochet * Ridge Holland * Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champion) * Sami Zayn * Sasha Banks * Shanky * Shayna Baszler * Sheamus * Shotzi Blackheart * Toni Storm * Xavier Woods * Xia Li
Tonight’s post-Extreme Rules edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX will air live from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland with Night 1 of the WWE Draft.
Multiple sources have reported that WWE NXT will be a part of the WWE Draft, which kicks off tonight during SmackDown from Baltimore, and then wraps with Monday’s RAW from Nashville.
It was noted by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that as of several days before the Draft, besides the top picks that FOX and the USA Network require, plans for the various picks were not set in stone, but that NXT looks to be a big part of the plans.
People in WWE were said to be under the impression that Xia Li, Dakota Kai and Aliyah are the leading candidates among the female NXT Superstars. These names have been rumored for main roster call-ups for months now, and have been working main roster dark matches.
Regarding Li, it was noted that WWE wants a legitimate Chinese star in the market after the success UFC had when Zhang Weili held the Women’s Strawweight World Title, which she lost back in April.
WWE previously indicated that WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley would not be eligible for the Draft, but that’s not necessarily the case. WWE’s official preview for tonight’s SmackDown included the following on the Draft:
“Which Superstars are about to make the jump from Raw to SmackDown? Who is heading from Friday night to Monday night? No titleholder’s place is safe! No tag team guaranteed to stay together! The only thing certain is that nothing will stay the same!”
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