The WWE SmackDown ‘season premiere’ will air live tonight on FOX from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO.
Tonight’s SmackDown is the go-home show for Saturday’s Fastlane on Peacock and the WWE Network.
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown live on FOX from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA.
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown will air live on FOX from the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
It’s official — “WWE SmackDown” will leave Fox next year (as previously predicted by Wells Fargo) and return to the USA Network. The company announced the move this morning, with a new five-year deal bringing “SmackDown” back to cable starting in October 2024. Included with the announcement was the news that “SmackDown” will remain on Friday nights, and there will also be four WWE specials aired on NBC’s broadcast channel each year.
“NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades,” WWE President Nick Khan said. “We are excited to extend this longstanding relationship by bringing SmackDown to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC.”
Despite the new agreement, a report from the Sports Business Journal, which broke the “SmackDown” news ahead of WWE’s press release, states that WWE and USA Network parent company NBCU have yet to reach an agreement for “WWE Raw.” With “SmackDown” returning to the network, however, NBCU reportedly remains a favorite to retain the rights to the company’s longest-running show, though corporations such as Disney and Amazon are reportedly still interested in WWE rights.
The report does note that it’s possible “Raw” moves away from Monday nights, which would obviously be a major shift, as the series has been a staple of Mondays since its inception in January 1993. While WWE will maintain some kind of partnership with NBCU through at least 2028, it’s not yet certain that their catalog will remain available on the company’s streaming app, Peacock, for the long haul. The streaming deal between WWE and NBCU, which saw the dissolution of the WWE Network in the United States in favor of Peacock, lasts until 2026.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returned (alongside Pat McAfee) to run down Austin Theory in Denver, Colorado on Friday night, and those in attendance at the “SmackDown” Hotel made a lot of noise for the returning People’s Champion, who hadn’t been seen on WWE television since 2019.
McAfee, who had appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” an hour away on ESPN and will co-host “College GameDay” from the same location on Saturday, made the journey to the Ball Arena to greet the WWE Universe, but was interrupted by former foe Austin Theory. After telling Theory he was just out there “enjoying the local laws,” McAfee brought out The Rock, who had appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” earlier in the day, to an objectively earth-shaking ovation from the Denver crowd.
The Rock soaked in the crowd’s adoration for a while before heading down the ring, taking off his jacket, and announcing that “The Rock has finally come back to Denver!” He soon had the crowd running down Theory as well, though those at home listened mostly to a muted broadcast as Fox opted to sensor the organic “holy s*” chants and somewhat less than organic “You’re an ahole” chants. Eventually, Theory tried to get the jump on Rock, but was denied and taken to the ground before the Hollywood star hit Theory with the People’s Elbow. The Rock then gestured for McAfee, who had been dancing and observing in the corner for the segment, to hit a People’s Elbow of his own. The pair celebrated in the ring while Theory was left laying.
In addition to his in-ring segment, Rock briefly encountered John Cena backstage, but as of this writing he has not been seen interacting with any current or former member of The Bloodline. During his “McAfee” appearance, Johnson said there had been plans for a match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, and said he’s open to a match with Reigns at WrestleMania 40. Johnson is also currently dealing with the Hollywood writers’ strike and its impact on his broader media endeavors.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
This other video begins a few minutes earlier that the one shown above.
WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
WWE is in discussions with various networks regarding the upcoming media rights agreements for Raw and SmackDown, which will expire in 2024 with USA Network and FOX.
The company has ended its exclusive negotiations period with USA and FOX, allowing to remain in talks with them and also talk with other networks.
During Monday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Amazon and Disney are the two primary contenders in bidding for the television rights to SmackDown, as FOX is not interested in bidding to pay WWE $300 million per year for the show.
WWE is seeking a substantial increase in price for both Raw and NXT, with the expectation that these two shows will continue to air on the USA Network.
Source: eWn
WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX from TD Garden in Boston, MA.
WWE will air live tonight on FOX from the GIANT Center in Hershey, PA.
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