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Thehistory ofWWF/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]SmackDown! debuted in the United States on theUPNtelevision network on April 29, 1999, but after themerger of UPN and the WB,SmackDown! began airing onThe CW in September 2006. The show was moved toMyNetworkTV in October 2008,[3][4] toSyfy on October 1, 2010[5][6] and toUSA Network on January 7, 2016.[7][8][9]
In its WWF/E SmackDown! history,SmackDown has been broadcast from more than 162 arenas, in more than 147 cities and towns, and in nine countries (theUnited States,Canada, theUnited Kingdom,Iraq in2003 and2004 forTribute to the Troops,Japan in 2005,Italy in 2007,Mexico in 2011, andFrance andSaudi Arabia in 2024). Prior to switching to the current live format, taped episodes premiered a few hours earlier in Ireland and the United Kingdom and a day earlier in Australia, Canada, andSingapore than the United States, due to time differences. The show celebrated its 15th anniversary on October 10, 2014,[10] and its 1,000th episode on October 16, 2018.
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The early set included an oval-shapedTitanTron entrance and stage (dubbed the "Ovaltron") which made it stand out from theRaw set with its rectangular Titantrons. Later productions gained the ability to move the Ovaltron either to the left or to the right of the stage. Throughout the show's early existence,The Rock routinely calledSmackDown! "his show", in reference to the fact that the name was derived from one of hiscatchphrases, "Lay the smackdown".[11] In August 2001, as part of celebratingSmackDown!'s 2nd anniversary, the show received a newlogo and set. The lastSmackDown! to use the previous entrance stage was the August 9, 2001, episode, which sawAlliance memberRhynogore WWF Team memberChris Jericho through the center screen, destroying part of the set. As a result of that incident, a new set debuted the following week and it consisted of a fist centered above the entrance, and many glass panes along the sides strongly resembling shattered glass.
In March 2002, WWE underwent the "brand extension",[12] a process in which WWE divided itself into two branches.[12] The two divisions,Raw andSmackDown!, would compete against each other. The brand extension was made public during a telecast ofRaw on March 18, 2002, and became official on the April 1, 2002, episode ofRaw.Michael Cole was joined in commentary byTazz on April 4, 2002, until June 9, 2006. Cole and Tazz also appeared as the commentators on February 22, 2001, through June 28, 2001, and August 2, 2001, through November 15, 2001.
WWE's "lame duck" status with Viacom onSpike TV may have prompted UPN to moveSmackDown! to theFriday night death slot for the fall 2005 season. UPN received better ratings on Fridays than it did before with its movie night. In addition, UPN had been able to hold on to the ratings from Thursday nights, most notably with comedianChris Rock's sitcomEverybody Hates Chris. In January 2006, UPN renewedSmackDown! for two more years.[13] AfterStar Trek: Enterprise had been cancelled,SmackDown! moved intoEnterprise's former timeslot. WWE promoted this move with thetagline "TV that's changing Friday nights."SmackDown! made its season premiere on September 9, 2005. The program still aired on Thursdays in Canada onthe Score. In the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, their stationsSky Sports andFox8 airedSmackDown! on Fridays before the United States due to the time difference. This was the first time a major weekly WWE show aired internationally before it hit screens in the United States. The events ofHurricane Katrina affected the first episode ofSmackDown! in the United States due tothe special fund-raising concert that aired on UPN at the same time that the first episode would have gone out, resulting in only the second hour of the show being shown on UPN, while the first hour was instead streamed from WWE's website. Other countries, including Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and the Philippines, received the full two-hour show. New York affiliateWWOR-TV and secondary affiliateWSWB (based in Northeastern Pennsylvania) also aired both hours of the show on tape delay on Saturday, due to the former's previous commitment to broadcast theNew York Yankees on Friday nights and the latter's primary affiliation withThe WB.
On June 9, 2006, Tazz left the SmackDown! brand to join the newECW brand, leaving the color commentator position vacant. However, on June 11, 2006, atECW One Night Stand, Layfield revealed that he was the new color commentator forSmackDown!, a position he held until December 21, 2007, when he left to make his return as an in-ring competitor onRaw, andJonathan Coachman replaced him afterwards. Eventually, Coachman was released by WWE the following year and replaced byMick Foley.
On September 22, 2006,Friday Night SmackDown! debuted onThe CW, a joint venture betweenCBS Corporation (owner ofUPN) andWarner Bros. Entertainment (a subsidiary ofTime Warner, majority owner ofthe WB Television Network). For four weeks before the official premiere ofFriday Night SmackDown! on the CW,Tribune Broadcasting television stations in six major markets (includingWPIX in New York City andKTLA in Los Angeles) aired WWE'sFriday Night SmackDown!.[14] This formed part of the preparation for the impending removal of UPN in several markets due to the debut ofMyNetworkTV on September 5, 2006. Two other future affiliates of The CW,WCWJ inJacksonville, Florida, andWIWB inGreen Bay, Wisconsin, also airedFriday Night SmackDown! in early September. The transition to the CW caused an interruption in the broadcast ofFriday Night SmackDown! in the state ofUtah beginning in June whenKPNZ inSalt Lake City stopped airing all UPN programs early. As of 2009,KUCW broadcasts the show. InHawaii,Friday Night SmackDown! returned in late 2006, airing on a CWdigital subchannel ofHonolulu'sFox affiliateKHON-TV (Channel 2), which had received statewide carriage overOceanic Time Warner Cable. Since the move to The CW,SmackDown! had shown a major increase inratings to an average a 3.0 national rating. In addition,SmackDown! had become the second-highest watched program on The CW.
On April 20, 2007,SmackDown! celebrated its 400th episode.[12] Ratings success soon followed as on June 8, 2007,SmackDown! made CW history by making a three-way tie withCBS andABC in the key ad demographic (adults, 18–49) by drawing a 1.5 rating each. Two weeks later, on June 22, 2007,SmackDown! again made CW history by tying the network for first place in the key ad demographic (adults, 18–49) and being the second-most-watched network program at 9 p.m. for the night. The CW had not performed as well at any time slot sinceAmerica's Next Top Model the previous March. The following week, on June 29, 2007,SmackDown! helped CW to claim the top spot in the key demographic (adults, 18–49) for Friday. CBS got the overall lead, but CW got top spot for the adults 18-49 by registering a 1.4 rating followed by CBS andNBC at 1.3, ABC at 1.2, andFox at 0.9.[15][16] Two weeks later, on Friday, July 13, 2007,SmackDown! made network history by placing first in the 18-49 demographic and becoming the most watched show at the 9 p.m. hour on network television. This was the first time anything has placed this well on CW.SmackDown! became a hit show on Friday nights winning the demographics for young males and ranking second on the demographics (18-49) for Friday nights.
Jim Ross became the new play-by-play announcer forSmackDown, whileMichael Cole (SmackDown! commentator for nine years from its launch in 1999 until June 23, 2008) was drafted toRaw. In August 2008, Tazz returned toSmackDown as color commentator, due in part toMick Foley's departure from WWE. A couple of months later, in late 2008, Tazz let his contract expire, so he was replaced byTodd Grisham, who was the color commentator onRaw.
SmackDown debuted onMyNetworkTV in the United States on October 3, 2008, featuring performers from theRaw,SmackDown andECW brands.SmackDown also debuted with a new theme-song. The premiere episode on MyNetworkTV attracted 3.2 million viewers. While the viewership dropped,SmackDown pulled the highest ratings to date for MyNetworkTV and pushed the network to fifth place, ahead of its former network The CW. The premiere was also first place in male 18-49 demographics.[17]
On March 20, 2009,SmackDown celebrated its 500th episode.[18] On September 15, 2009,WWE Home Video released a DVD set entitledThe Best of SmackDown 10th Anniversary. TheSmackDown 10th Anniversary DVD which included the Top 100 moments inSmackDown history was hosted by Cole andMatt Striker. On April 19, 2010, theeruption of a volcano in Iceland left ash hovering over Europe and caused the grounding of many flights, leaving most of theRaw roster stranded inBelfast, Northern Ireland. To keep the audience from thinking thatRaw was canceled for the night,SmackDown wrestlers (includingRey Mysterio, Edge, CM Punk,Chris Jericho) took overRaw. The episode is known asMonday Night SmackDown, although that title was never mentioned on air. On October 30, 2009, Todd Grisham was revealed as the new lead announcer forSmackDown, alongside Michael Cole for one night on October 16, 2009, and Matt Striker, a position he held until December 3, 2010, when he left to become the new lead announcer forNXT along withJosh Mathews.
As made public on April 12, 2010,SmackDown moved toSyfy, which had previously airedNXT andECW, in a two-year deal that included an optional third year.[5][6][19]SmackDown made its live premiere on Syfy on October 1, 2010, retaining its Friday night timeslot.[5] Prior to this premiere ofSmackDown, Michael Cole hosted a "pre-game" show. According to theLos Angeles Times, the move saw Syfy paying close to $30 million for the show as opposed to the $20 million paid by its former network MyNetworkTV.[6] The move also resulted in network,SmackDown being advertised more frequently on Syfy'ssister network,USA Network, which airsRaw. Same week encores ofSmackDown were also added toUniversal HD's andmun2's Saturday night schedule as a result of the move in the spot previously held byNXT andECW.
On December 10, 2010, theNXT color commentator Josh Mathews became the new lead announcer forSmackDown, a position he held until February 22, 2013, when he left to become the new color commentator the following week until May 24, 2013. On February 4, 2011,Booker T made a return onSmackDown as a commentator replacing Striker.
In August 2011, the brand extension came to an end, resulting inRaw talent appearing onSmackDown and vice versa. In late 2011,Super SmackDown Live, a live episode of the show was broadcast on a Tuesday. The title was revived for future live episodes.
The October 14, 2011, episode madeSmackDown the second-longest-running weekly episodic television series of American television history (behindRaw, which surpassed that mark on August 2, 2005). On April 1, 2012, atWrestleMania XXVIII,John Laurinaitis became general manager of bothRaw andSmackDown after Team Johnny defeated Team Teddy. However, on June 17, 2012, atNo Way Out, after Cena defeatedBig Show in asteel cage match, Laurinaitis was fired byMr. McMahon. On the August 3, 2012, episode ofSmackDown, Mr. McMahon named Booker T theSmackDown General Manager. In addition, Booker named Long andEve Torres as his assistants. John "Bradshaw" Layfield returned to WWE in September 2012 and became a commentator for the show as well. On January 18, 2013,SmackDown celebrated its 700th episode.Vickie Guerrero became general manager on July 19, 2013, but was fired the following year. The show is also run frequently by WWEchief operating officerTriple H. Past episodes ofSmackDown are now viewable on the video streaming websiteHulu along with episodes ofSuperstars andECW.[20] On October 10, 2014,SmackDown celebrated its 15th anniversary.[10] The 15th season premiere opened with a new theme, "Centuries" byFall Out Boy. To help celebrate the 15th anniversary,Stephanie McMahon came out first, then Laurinaitis and Long, respectively, the latter of which kept one-upping each other for the main event of the night until McMahon decided to keep the15-man tag team match that Long suggested, on the condition Laurinaitis and Long be the captains of each team like at WrestleMania XXVIII.[21] Long's team won the match.[22] On December 16, 2014,SmackDown aired its 800th episode, which aired live onUSA Network, featuring the main event betweenDolph Ziggler andSeth Rollins.[23]
The show's return to Thursday nights – something that was rumored as early as August 2014[24][25] – was made official by Syfy and WWE on November 6, 2014.[26][27] The return to Thursday nights was expected to help attract a younger audience to Syfy, as well as more premium advertising dollars from marketers, who tend to spend more to promote their products, especially film releases, on the night as consumers head into the weekend.[28] The lastSmackDown airing on Friday nights had 2.43 million viewers with a 0.7 share.[29]
After the broadcast on the finale ofSmackDown, Layfield leftSmackDown to joinRaw, where he served as a commentator, alongside Cole and Booker T from January 5, 2015, to July 25, 2016,[32] leaving the color-commentator position vacant.SmackDown returned to a Thursday night airing from the episode of January 15, 2015.[26][27][28] Lawler joined the broadcast team for the move.[32][33][34][35][unreliable source] He was to join the broadcast team in 2012 onSmackDown until he had aheart attack during the September 10, 2012, episode ofRaw.[36][37][38]WWE pay-per-view events kickoff analystByron Saxton also joined the broadcast team afterwards in the same episode.[32] The broadcast saw a revisedSmackDown logo and all new graphics with 2.68 million viewers with a 0.8 rating share.[39][40] In a January 2015 interview,Daniel Bryan said he told WWE management that he wished to be the "face ofSmackDown" to increase the show's viewership.[41] The January 15, 2015, episode ofSmackDown marked Bryan's return to the ring after months of being injured as he wrestled in the main event of the first fiveSmackDown episodes since the move back to Thursday airings.[a] On January 29, 2015, the special live episode ofSmackDown was aired fromXL Center inHartford, Connecticut, after theJanuary 2015 North American blizzard, postponement for liveRaw and cancellation forSmackDown taping inBoston.[47][48] The live episode had 2.95 million viewers with a 0.9 share; in the main event Daniel Bryan defeatedKane in acasket match.[49][unreliable source][50] DuringWrestleMania week, Byron Saxton was absent at the time due to a live prediction about the upcoming matches atWrestleMania 31 withRenee Young.[51] Tazz, Cole, Layfield and Booker T was recently absent during WrestleMania week in 2005, 2012 and 2013.[52][53]
On April 2, 2015,Tom Phillips stood in as lead announcer for Michael Cole, who was recovering from akayfabe injury suffered at the hands ofBrock Lesnar the previous week onRaw.[54][55] Phillips' first air date as August 22, 2014, until January 9, 2015, duringSmackDown aired on Fridays alongside Cole and Layfield.[56] After Cole leftSmackDown to joinRaw as lead announcer during a tour of the United Kingdom on April 16, 2015, Phillips returned toSmackDown alongside Lawler and Saxton on the following week. After the broadcast on June 18, 2015, Phillips continued as lead announcer onSmackDown until August 20, 2015. In the same date, Byron Saxton leftSmackDown to joinRaw as a color commentator, along with Cole and Layfield since June 8, 2015,[57][unreliable source] leaving the color commentator position vacant. However, on June 25, 2015,The Usos member Jimmy Uso revealed that he would be the new color commentator forSmackDown, a position he held until September 3, 2015, when he left to make his return as an in-ring competitor onSmackDown next week to team withRoman Reigns andDean Ambrose in asix-man tag team match againstWWE Tag Team ChampionsThe New Day, and the color commentator onMain Event since August 25, 2015, beforeSmackDown taping. On August 27, 2015,NXT andSuperstars lead announcer Rich Brennan replaced Phillips to join the broadcast team following Phillips' interview withWWE Superstars after the match in the backstage on WWE.com and WWE's exclusiveYouTube channel.[58] On September 10, 2015, the WWE pay-per-view events kickoff analyst andHall of Famer Booker T once again made a return onSmackDown as a color commentator replacing Jimmy Uso.[59][unreliable source] The lastSmackDown airing on Syfy had 2.8 million viewers and was taped on December 29; in the main event Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns defeatedKevin Owens andSheamus by disqualification.[60]
On January 7, 2016,SmackDown started airing onUSA Network.[7][8][9] With the move, all top three WWE programs –Raw,SmackDown andTough Enough – would air on the same network for the first time ever.[8] According to Lawler,SmackDown may move back to Friday nights on USA Network and go live.[61][62][63][unreliable source][64] There was a possibility thatSmackDown may move to Tuesday nights on USA Network and go live.[65]SmackDown remained on Thursday nights when the show moves from Syfy to USA Network on January 7.[66] Coinciding with the premiere ofSmackDown on USA Network, Rich Brennan was replaced byMauro Ranallo, who is set to become the lead announcer,[67][68] and Booker T was replaced by the currentRaw andSuperstars color commentator Byron Saxton, who is set to become the alternate color commentator. The firstSmackDown episode on USA Network had 2.75 million viewers; in main event matchesCharlotte defended theDivas Championship againstBecky Lynch and Kevin Owens wrestledIntercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose to a doublecountout.[69] When Mauro Ranallo suffered frominfluenza, currentRaw lead commentator Michael Cole replaced him on February 18, 2016. That night'sSmackDown episode marked the return of Brock Lesnar and thenWWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H during and after main event between Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose againstThe Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray andD-Von) in a tag team match.[70]David Otunga temporarily replaced[71] Jerry Lawler after Lawler was suspended as a result of a domestic abuse incident at his home inMemphis, Tennessee.[72] The lastSmackDown airing on Thursday nights had 2.0 million viewers with a 0.6 share[73] and was emanated fromVan Andel Arena inGrand Rapids, Michigan.[74]
On May 25, 2016, it was revealed thatSmackDown would move to Tuesday nights and air live instead of the previous pre-recorded format, and that thebrand split would also return.[75]Vince McMahon namedShane McMahon the commissioner of SmackDown,[76] andDaniel Bryan was revealed as the new SmackDown General Manager.[77] On July 22, 2016, general manager Daniel Bryan revealed the new SmackDown logo on his official Twitter page.[78]
Immediately following the2016 WWE draft,John "Bradshaw" Layfield returned as a color commentator, whileDavid Otunga also returned as a color commentator afterwards. The show also debuted a new stage, new graphics, new theme songs, along with new ring post designs, and blue ropes. The final Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live of 2016 took place at theAllstate Arena inChicago, Monday for Raw and Tuesday for SmackDown, that week's episode of SmackDown had a higher rating as well as selling more tickets than Raw, which took place the previous night. This was the first time in the history of SmackDown's existence this happened.[79][80] During the November 7, 2017, episode of SmackDown, AJ Styles beat Jinder Mahal for theWWE Championship, the first time the WWE Championship changed hands outside of North America.[81]
On April 10, 2018, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that Daniel Bryan was back as a full-time WWE Superstar after his in-ring return atWrestleMania 34, therefore "graciously accepted Daniel's resignation as SmackDown General Manager". He then namedPaige the new general manager.[82]
From June 24, 2019, WWE implemented an order from Vince McMahon that there would be no wrestling during commercial breaks toRaw andSmackDown. An exception was duringsplit screen viewing of both the match and commercials. This led to matches having breaks and restarts, and best of three falls matches with relatively quick falls.[83][84]
On May 16, 2018,The Hollywood Reporter, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that NBCUniversal was planning to renew its rights toRaw, but that WWE was offeringSmackDown separately to other broadcasters. On May 21, it was reported that WWE was nearing a five-year deal withFox (the parent network of formerSmackDown broadcaster MyNetworkTV) beginning in October 2019, valued at $205 million per-year, tripling the amount paid by NBCUniversal and USA Network.[85][86]
On June 27, 2018, WWE officially announced thatSmackDown would move to Fox beginning October 4, 2019, also returning the show to Friday nights.[87][88]
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With their transition to Fox in October 2019, changes were made to the logo. Additionally, the show dropped "Live" from the title and returned to referring to it asFriday Night SmackDown.[89]
On May 9, 2024 it was announced that WWE SmackDown will return to theUSA Network since years 2016 to 2019 starting on September 13, 2024.[90][91] It had been discussed ever since early 2024 before the month of May.[92]
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