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WWE SmackDown, also known as Friday Night SmackDown or simply SmackDown, is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Fox , although some sporting events occasionally move it to FS1 .
Jan 3, 2002 · SmackDown 127. 70 %. January 17, 2002 • 1h 25m. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin & Triple H take on Kurt Angle & Booker T. Before they meet one-on-one at the Royal Rumble for the WWE Undisputed Championship, The Rock and Chris Jericho exchange final words with each other.
- Overview
- History
- On-air personalities
- International broadcasters
- Theme songs
is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). As of October 4, 2019, it airs on FOX in the United States as WWE Friday Night SmackDown. From January 15, 2015, the show was aired as WWE Thursday Night SmackDown. Starting on July 19, 2016, the show was aired as WWE SmackDown Live. The show's name was also used to refer to the SmackDown brand, in which WWE employees were assigned to work and perform on that program during the brand extension period of 2002 to 2011; the other program and brand was Raw.
From its launch in 1999, SmackDown broadcast on Thursday nights, but as of September 9, 2005, the show moved to Friday nights. The show originally debuted in the United States on the UPN television network on August 26, 1999, but after the merger of UPN and the WB, SmackDown began airing on The CW in 2006. The show remained on the CW network for two years until it was announced that it would move to MyNetworkTV in October 2008. SmackDown moved to Syfy on October 1, 2010 (additional information can be seen further down this page). Since January 15, 2015, episodes are airing on Thursdays for the first time in 9 years. Since January 7, 2016, SmackDown moved to USA Network, with its final Thursday night broadcast being on July 14, 2016. On July 19, 2016, SmackDown moved to Tuesday nights and aired live on USA Network. It is the second longest running weekly episodic television show in US history behind Monday Night Raw.
(as it was originally known) was set up to compete against WCW's Thursday night show, Thunder. In the spirit of the WWF's Attitude Era, the show was originally planned to be two hours of WWF Divas in primetime TV. However, this did not work out, and instead SmackDown! became a complementary show to RAW is WAR.
first appeared on April 29, 1999 using the RAW is WAR set as a single television special on UPN. On August 26, 1999, SmackDown! officially debuted on UPN. Like WCW Thunder, SmackDown! was recorded on Tuesdays and then broadcast on Thursdays. The new WWF show was so popular that WCW moved Thunder to Wednesdays in the hope of holding on to fans rather than losing them to the WWF. SmackDown!, like Thunder , made heavy use of the color blue, earning it the nickname "The Blue Show" amongst wrestling fans.
The original SmackDown! theme was not performed by a band like the RAW is WAR theme; instead, the WWF created a fast-paced theme that was a mixture of techno and rock. The first SmackDown! set was also unique as it featured an oval-shaped TitanTron (which was dubbed the "OvalTron"), entrance and stage which made it stand out from the RAW set and its rectangular TitanTrons. An added feature to the original set was the ability for the OvalTron to be moved to either the left or right of the stage. Throughout the show's early existence, top WWF superstar The Rock routinely called SmackDown! "his" show, in reference to the fact that the name was derived from one of his catchphrases, "Laying the smack down." In August 2001, as part of celebrating SmackDown!'s 2nd anniversary, the show received a new logo and set. The last SmackDown! to use the previous television set saw Alliance member Rhyno deliver the Gore to WWF member Chris Jericho through the OvalTron destroying part of the set, and this was the storyline reason for the change.
The September 11, 2001 taping event was cancelled due to the terrorist attacks. On September 13, 2001, SmackDown! was broadcast live from Houston (with Jim Ross and Paul Heyman filling in as hosts Michael Cole and Tazz were absent) as the first major and televised event since the attacks as thousands were in attendance. The ring ropes are usually blue for the SmackDown! shows but were red, white and blue for this night; these colors were commonly used during the 1980s and through the 1990s. They would remain that way, with an American Flag on the mini-tron, for two weeks.
General managersCommentatorsRing announcersIn addition to broadcasts on USA, Universal HD, mun2, and AFN Xtra in the United States, WWE SmackDown also appears on-air internationally:
"Smack" (TV Edit) - April 19, 2001
"The Beautiful People (WWF Remix)" (TV Edit) by Marilyn Manson - August 16, 2001
"I Want It All" - 2003
"I Want It All" (V2) - September 16, 2004
"Rise Up" (Early Instrumental) - September 23, 2004
"Rise Up"(TV Edit) by Drowning Pool - September 30, 2004
Jan 29, 2015 · WWE breaks new ground with the pilot episode of SmackDown! Shane McMahon plots a sinister merger to form The Corporate Ministry. WWE Champion "Stone Cold" Steve Austin & The Rock are forced to team up against Triple H & Undertaker. Dissension brews in the remnants of DX as the New Age Outlaws challenge X-Pac & Kane for the Tag Team Championship.
The tournament to crown the inaugural WWE Tag Team Champions continues, as Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle face Los Guerreros, and Edge and Rey Mysterio face Ron Simmons and D-Von, Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie continue their feud, Paul Heyman looks to stir up trouble for the Undertaker, and more. S4, Ep7. 24 Oct. 2002. Episode #4.7.
The history of WWF/E SmackDown!, began with the show's debut on August 26, 1999, in Kansas City, Missouri. The show was originally broadcast on Thursday nights but moved to Friday on September 9, 2005, before returning to Thursdays on January 15, 2015. [1] On July 19, 2016, it was moved to Tuesday Nights. [2]
WWE Smackdown!: Created by Vince McMahon. With Michael Coulthard, John Layfield, Rey Mysterio, Charles Robinson. Superstars of World Wrestling Entertainment do battle in elaborate, long running rivalries in a weekly two-hour showdown.
