Tag: Friday Night SmackDown

Eric Bischoff Replaced By Bruce Prichard As Executive Director Of WWE Friday Night SmackDown

WWE announced that Bruce Prichard will replace Eric Bischoff as the Executive Director of WWE Friday Night SmackDown. Prichard will report directly to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon.

Prichard will oversee the creative development of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX and ensure integration across all platforms and lines of business.

WWE had named Bischoff as the Executive Director of WWE SmackDown this past June, while also appointing Paul Heyman as the Executive Director of WWE RAW. There had been reports over recent months about Bischoff not being heavily involved with the SmackDown creative process.

WWE released following press release regarding Prichard replacing Bischoff:

WWE® NAMES BRUCE PRICHARD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SMACKDOWN®Stamford, Conn., October 15, 2019 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced that it has named Bruce Prichard the Executive Director of Friday Night SmackDown, reporting directly to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon.

Prichard will oversee the creative development of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX and ensure integration across all platforms and lines of business, replacing Eric Bischoff.

Prichard brings nearly 40 years of experience in sports entertainment with an extensive background in character development and creative storytelling. Over the course of his career, Prichard has served in a variety of roles including announcer, producer, agent and on-screen personality. Earlier this year, Prichard returned to WWE as a member of the company’s creative team.

Friday Night SmackDown airs at 8 pm ET/PT on FOX.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Talents To Receive Time Off During Christmas Week

WWE is set to tape the pre-Christmas edition of RAW on Tuesday, December 17 in Sioux City, Iowa. The taped show will air on Monday, December 23, according to @Wrestlevotes.

All WWE talents are scheduled to have some time off between Sunday, December 22 and Thursday, December 26. The SmackDown episode on Friday, December 27 will air live.

There will also be no live WWE NXT episode on Wednesday, December 25 for Christmas. There’s no word yet on what they have planned for NXT that night.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

2019 WWE Draft Results From SmackDown

Round 1

  • RAW – RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch
  • SmackDown – Roman Reigns
  • RAW – The OC (United States Champion AJ Styles, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
  • SmackDown – “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
  • RAW – Drew McIntyre

Round 2

  • RAW – Randy Orton
  • SmackDown – Sasha Banks
  • RAW – Ricochet
  • SmackDown – Braun Strowman
  • RAW – Bobby Lashley

Round 3

  • RAW – Alexa Bliss
  • SmackDown – Lacey Evans
  • RAW – Kevin Owens
  • SmackDown – SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival
  • RAW – Natalya

Round 4

  • RAW – RAW Tag Team Champions Viking Raiders
  • SmackDown – Lucha House Party
  • RAW – Nikki Cross
  • SmackDown – Heavy Machinery
  • RAW – The Street Profits

WWE previously announced that Superstars who were not drafted from the Draft Pools would become free agents, and would be able to sign with the brand of their choosing.

The following Superstars are now free agents after they were not drafted on SmackDown: Cesaro, Humberto Carrillo, Akira Tozawa, Sin Cara, Eric Young, EC3, Chad Gable, Heath Slater, Drew Gulak, The B Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel), and Tamina Snuka.

The following Superstars are in the Draft Pool for Monday’s RAW from Denver: Universal Champion Seth Rollins, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, Charlotte Flair, Titus O’Neil, Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura (with Sami Zayn), Aleister Black, The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods), Daniel Bryan, SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, The Miz, Ali, King Corbin, Elias, RAW Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Bobby Roode, Samoa Joe, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane), Rusev, Cedric Alexander, Rey Mysterio, 24/7 Champion R-Truth, Carmella, AOP (Akam & Rezar), Heavy Machinery (Tucker & Otis), Apollo Crews, Andrade, Liv Morgan, Jinder Mahal, Buddy Murphy, Mojo Rawley, No Way Jose, Dana Brooke, Shelton Benjamin, Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder, The IIconics (Billie Kay & Peyton Royce), Sarah Logan, Fire & Desire (Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville), and Drake Maverick.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown Preview 10/11/19 – WWE Draft

Tonight’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown will take place from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with the beginning of the 2019 WWE Draft.

WWE Announces Draft Pools For RAW And SmackDown

WWE has announced the preliminary Draft Pool for the 2019 WWE Draft that kicks off on Friday’s SmackDown from Las Vegas, then wraps on Monday’s RAW in Denver.

WWE earlier announced the rules for the 2019 Draft, including why RAW will receive more picks than SmackDown. They also announced which celebrities will be involved with announcing the picks. You can read that announcement by clicking here.

Regarding the WWE Draft Pools, several top Superstars will be eligible for selection on Friday night and Monday night. Stars like RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, The OC, Sasha Banks, The Street Profits, and others will be eligible on Friday. Stars like WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, The New Day, Daniel Bryan, AOP, Aleister Black, and others will be eligible on Monday night.

Preliminary WWE Draft Pools announcedSmackDown and Raw are officially on the clock.

The preliminary WWE Draft Pools have been determined and designate which WWE Superstars are available for selection on each night.

Below is the full list of draft-eligible Superstars organized by assigned night:

Friday Night SmackDown – Oct. 11
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch
Roman Reigns
The O.C. (United States Champion AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson)
“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
Drew McIntyre
Randy Orton
Sasha Banks
Ricochet
Braun Strowman
Bobby Lashley
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
Lacey Evans
The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder)
Natalya
The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)
Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado)
Cesaro
Kevin Owens
Humberto Carrillo
Akira Tozawa
Sin Cara
Eric Young
EC3
Chad Gable
Heath Slater
Drew Gulak
The B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel)
Tamina

Raw – Oct. 14
Universal Champion Seth Rollins
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair
Titus O’Neil
Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura (with Sami Zayn)
Aleister Black
The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E & Xavier Woods)
Daniel Bryan
Bayley
Luke Harper
Erick Rowan
The Miz
Ali
King Corbin
Elias
Raw Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Bobby Roode
Samoa Joe
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane)
Rusev
Cedric Alexander
Rey Mysterio
R-Truth
Carmella
AOP (Akam & Rezar)
Heavy Machinery (Tucker & Otis)
Apollo Crews
Andrade
Liv Morgan
Jinder Mahal
Buddy Murphy
Mojo Rawley
No Way José
Dana Brooke
Shelton Benjamin
Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder
The IIconics (Billie Kay & Peyton Royce)
Sarah Logan
Fire & Desire (Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville)
Drake Maverick

The WWE Draft begins with the Friday, Oct. 11 episode of SmackDown on FOX at 8/7 C. Catch the final picks on the Monday, Oct. 14 episode of Raw on USA Network at 8/7C.

WWE Clarifies Rules Regarding Draft

WWE has clarified the rules for its upcoming draft beginning tonight on Friday Night SmackDown.

The WWE draft rules are as follows:

  • More than seventy Superstars, including Tag Teams, have been placed into this year’s Draft pool
  • Thirty Superstars will be eligible to be drafted tomorrow night, while fourty-one Superstars will be eligible on Monday Night
  • For every two SmackDown picks, Raw will get three (since Friday Night SmackDown is a two-hour show and Monday Night Raw is a three-hour show)
  • Tag Teams will count as one pick unless FOX or USA Network specifically wants to pick one Superstar from the team
  • Any undrafted Superstars will immediately be declared free agents and able to sign with the brand of their choosing

WWE also confirmed FOX and NBCUniversal personalities who will Draft make appearances.

This includes FOX personalities like Alex Rodriguez, Troy Aikman, Jim Cramer, Joe Buck, Frank Thomas, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart , Charissa Thompson, Michael Vick, and more. Repping NBCUniversal will be Michael Che and Colin Jost, Christian Slater, Dulé Hill and James Roday from Psych, Marcus Lemonis from The Profit, Margaret Josephs and Melissa Gorga  from Real Housewives of New Jersey and more.

The press release also explains that “For the first time, executives from FOX and USA Network have direct influence over the WWE Draft as it will determine the Superstars competing for either Raw or SmackDown.”

The WWE Draft begins tonight at 8pm ET on Friday Night SmackDown, then continues Monday on RAW.

Backstage News On The Format For The WWE Draft

The WWE Draft begins this Friday with SmackDown on FOX. Superstars will be legitimately finding out which brands they will be going to on Friday, and the event will continue on Monday’s Raw.

According to the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, the WWE Draft will be different from previous years as it will be ran similar to the NFL Draft. Representatives from FOX and the USA Network will be announcing the picks.

The idea is to make the WWE Draft as authentic as possible thanks to the companies new TV deals. It was previously reported that various personalities from USA and FOX would be appearing, but WWE didn’t state if celebrities would be included.

Additionally, Dave Meltzer pointed out that WWE does not want authority figures involved in programming for now. It is unknown when WWE will be bringing them back.

It was also noted that all the major decisions regarding which stars will be drafted are complete, however WWE is keeping the moves very quiet.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown FOX Premiere Viewership Draws Big Numbers

This week’s WWE SmackDown FOX premiere and 20th Anniversary episode drew 3.869 million viewers, according to Showbuzz Daily.

This is up 84% from last week’s 2.099 million viewers for the final USA Network episode. To compare, Monday’s RAW season premiere drew an average of 2.571 million viewers, up from last week’s 2.210 million viewers.

SmackDown won the night in the coveted 18-49 demo, averaging a 1.35 rating over the two hours. The closest number to SmackDown for the demo was Hawaii Five-O from 8-9pm, which scored a 0.7 rating for Adults 18-49.

For the night in terms of overall viewership, SmackDown was #4 behind Blue Bloods on CBS (7.387 million viewers), Hawaii Five-O (6.393 million), Magnum P.I. (6.024 million) and The Blacklist (3.965 million).

Below is 2019 SmackDown Viewership Tracker:

January 1 Episode: 2.091 million viewers (New Year’s episode, taped)
January 8 Episode: 2.032 million viewers
January 15 Episode: 2.143 million viewers
January 22 Episode: 2.142 million viewers
January 29 Episode: 2.137 million viewers (post-Royal Rumble episode)
February 5 Episode: 1.841 million viewers (State of the Union competition)
February 12 Episode: 2.034 million viewers
February 19 Episode: 2.269 million viewers (post-Elimination Chamber episode)
February 26 Episode: 2.150 million viewers
March 5 Episode: 2.155 million viewers
March 12 Episode: 2.198 million viewers (post-Fastlane episode)
March 19 Episode: 2.208 million viewers
March 26 Episode: 2.393 million viewers
April 2 Episode: 2.141 million viewers
April 9 Episode: 2.199 million viewers (post-WrestleMania 35 episode)
April 16 Episode: 2.219 million viewers (Superstar Shakeup episode)
April 23 Episode: 2.072 million viewers
April 30 Episode: 1.833 million viewers
May 7 Episode: 1.931 million viewers
May 14 Episode: 1.827 million viewers (taped episode from London)
May 21 Episode: 1.983 million viewers (post-Money In the Bank episode)
May 28 Episode: 2.072 million viewers
June 4 Episode: 2.016 million viewers
June 11 Episode: 1.930 million viewers (post-Super ShowDown episode)
June 18 Episode: 1.859 million viewers
June 25 Episode: 1.921 million viewers (post-Stomping Grounds episode)
July 2 Episode: 1.890 million viewers
July 9 Episode: 1.853 million viewers
July 16 Episode: 2.122 million viewers (post-Extreme Rules episode)
July 23 Episode: 2.162 million viewers
July 30 Episode: 1.911 million viewers
August 6 Episode: 2.088 million viewers
August 13 Episode: 2.164 million viewers (post-SummerSlam episode)
August 20 Episode: 2.142 million viewers
August 27 Episode: 2.088 million viewers
September 3 Episode: 2.130 million viewers
September 10 Episode: 2.061 million viewers
September 17 Episode: 2.064 million viewers (post-Clash of Champions episode)
September 24 Episode: 2.099 million viewers (final USA Network episode)
October 4 Episode: 3.869 million viewers (FOX premiere episode)

2018 Total: 122.304 million viewers
2018 Average: 2.352 million viewers per episode

2017 Total: 132.401 million viewers
2017 Average: 2.546 million viewers per episode

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Brock Lesnar Defeats Kofi Kingston For WWE Championship, Confronted By Cain Velasquez

A ghost from Brock Lesnar’s past came back to haunt him before he could celebrate winning the WWE Championship on WWE Friday Night SmackDown’s debut on FOX last night.

Lesnar made short work of Kofi Kingston with one move, a F5, to capture the gold in the main event, but his smiles were short lived. Before The Beast could begin his celebrations, Rey Mysterio made his way to ring … alongside former UFC fighter Cain Velasquez.

Lesnar and Heyman looked on from the ring, shocked. Cain entered the ring and ducked a shot from Lesnar, then tackled him. Cain pounded on Lesnar on the mat as Lesnar resisted and tried to retreat. He finally escaped the ring and stared Cain down from the ramp. Lesnar teased going back in but finally walked back to the stage as fans booed him. SmackDown went off the air with Cain standing tall in the ring with Mysterio while Lesnar and Heyman watched from the stage.

In case you’re not aware, the last time these two men came to blows was in UFC back in 2010. Velasquez won that battle easily, so Brock will most certainly be looking for some payback.

Velasquez had been in talks with WWE, but was also interested in AEW.

Shane McMahon “Fired” By Kevin Owens After Losing Ladder Match On SmackDown

Last night on the Friday Night SmackDown debut on FOX, Shane McMahon has been “fired.”

It all went down at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Shane went one-on-one with his bitter rival Kevin Owens in a ladder match. The end of the match came about when KO powerbombed Shane onto a ladder, then climbed another ladder in the center of the ring to retrieve the briefcase and end the WWE career of Shane-O-Mac.

After the match, KO took a page out of the McMahon family playbook by grabbing a mic and yelling “YOU’RE FIRED!” at his former boss right before giving him a stunner.