WWE SmackDown

For an article of the video game series based on the show, see WWE SmackDown (video game series).

For an article of the first game from said series, see WWF SmackDown!

WWE SmackDown
File:WWESmackDownHD.png
Created by	Vince McMahon
Starring	SmackDown brand
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	479 (as of October 17, 2008)
Production
Camera setup	Multicamera setup
Running time	Approximately 2 hours per episode (1 hour 30 minutes and commercials)
Original release
Network	UPN (August 26, 1999 – September 15, 2006) The CW (September 22, 2006 – September 26, 2008) MyNetworkTV (October 3, 2008 - present)
Release	August 26, 1999 – present

WWE Friday Night SmackDown is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that is currently airing on MyNetworkTV in the United States. The show's name is also used to refer to the SmackDown brand, in which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform on that program; the other programs and brands are Raw and ECW. It is the only television broadcast for the SmackDown brand. From its launch in 1999, SmackDown was shown 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 closure of that network, Friday Night SmackDown was moved to The CW in 2006. The showed remained on the CW network for two years until it was announced that it would move to MyNetworkTV in October 2008. The show is also shown in Mexico on TV Azteca. The show is also shown in the United Kingdom on Friday nights on Sky Sports 3; due to the time difference, Friday Night SmackDown premieres a few hours earlier in the United Kingdom than the United States. For other broadcast listings, see below.

Show history

Original format

SmackDown! as it was originally titled first appeared on April 29, 1999 as a single television special on UPN. On August 26, 1999, SmackDown! officially debuted on UPN, in Kansas City, Missouri. 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 WWF. SmackDown!, like Thunder, made heavy use of the color blue.

File:SmackDown!original.JPG

WWF SmackDown! logo (1999-2001)

The first SmackDown! set was 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 smackdown." In August 2001, as part of celebrating SmackDown!'s second anniversary, the show received a new logo and set. The last SmackDown! to use the previous television set saw Alliance member Rhyno Gore WWF member Chris Jericho through the center screen, destroying part of the set.

Brand Extension

Main article: WWE Brand Extension

In early to mid-2002, WWE underwent a process they called the "Brand Extension". WWE divided itself into two "de facto" wrestling promotions with separate rosters, storylines and authority figures. Raw and SmackDown! would host each division, give its name to the division and essentially compete against each other. The split was a result of WWF purchasing their two biggest competitors, WCW and ECW. The brand extension was publicly announced during a telecast of WWF Raw on March 25, 2002, and became official the next day.

File:SmackDown!Brand.JPG

WWE SmackDown! logo (2001-2005)

Wrestlers now would become show-exclusive, wrestling for their specific show only. At the time this excluded the WWE Undisputed Championship and WWE Women's Championship, as those WWE titles would be defended on both shows. In August 2002, WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar refused to defend the title on Raw, in effect causing his title to become exclusive to SmackDown! The following week on Raw, General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded a newly instated World Heavyweight Championship to Raw's designated #1 contender, Triple H. Due to the fact that since the WWE Undisputed Championship was now SmackDown! exclusive it was no longer seen as "Undisputed". Following this, the WWE Women's Championship soon became Raw-exclusive as well. As a result of the Brand Extension, an annual "draft lottery" was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.

On June 6, 2005, WWE Champion John Cena switched brands from SmackDown! to Raw as part of the month-long Draft Lottery. This effectively left SmackDown! without a World Title. During this time, United States Champion Orlando Jordan was billed as the top champion on the show. On June 23, 2005, in Tucson, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long announced a six-man elimination match between John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Booker T, Chris Benoit, The Undertaker, Christian (replacing The Big Show, who was picked by Raw in the lottery), and Muhammad Hassan to crown the first SmackDown! Champion. On the June 30 episode of SmackDown!, JBL won the match. Long appeared afterward and stated that even though JBL had won the match, SmackDown! did not need a Championship anymore. Batista, the World Heavyweight Champion, entered the ring as SmackDown!'s final draft lottery pick. Long also revealed that JBL was the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Friday Night SmackDown!

File:FridayNightSmackDown!.jpg

The Friday Night SmackDown! logo used from September 9, 2005-January 18, 2008

It was possible that WWE's "lame duck" status with Viacom on Spike TV is what prompted its moving SmackDown! to the Friday night death slot for the Fall 2005 season. However, it worked out for both parties involved, as the show did better in the ratings than it had on Thursdays, while UPN received much 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 comedian Chris Rock's Wonder Years-like sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. In January 2006, prior to the announcement of the CW Network, it was announced that UPN had renewed SmackDown! for two more years.

Following the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise, SmackDown! was renamed Friday Night SmackDown! and moved into Enterprise's former timeslot in the United States. WWE promoted this move with the tagline "TV that's changing Friday nights." Friday Night SmackDown! made its season premiere on September 9, 2005. The program still aired on Thursdays in Canada on the Score. In the United Kingdom and Australia, their stations Sky Sports and FOX8 air SmackDown! on Fridays before the United States due to the time difference. This is the first time a major weekly WWE show airs internationally before it hits screens in the U.S.

The events of Hurricane Katrina affected the first edition of Friday Night SmackDown! in the U.S. due to a special fundraising concert (see Shelter From the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast) that aired on UPN at the same time that the first edition would have been broadcast, resulting in only the second hour of the show being shown on UPN. 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. WWOR-TV (My 9, New York, New York) also aired both hours of the show on tape delay on Saturday, due to a previous commitment to broadcast the New York Yankees on Friday nights.

At the SmackDown! taping on January 10, 2006, Batista had to forfeit the World Heavyweight Championship because of a triceps injury. SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long made a Battle Royal for the vacant title. The winner was at the time Raw superstar Kurt Angle, who later switched to the SmackDown brand. In a break from their traditional role of acting as if SmackDown! is not pre-recorded, WWE.com had a photograph of Angle holding his new title on the main page. WWE also did this when Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to win the World Heavyweight Championship from The Undertaker and when The Great Khali won a battle royal after Edge's injury.

On the April 7, 2006 edition of SmackDown!, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long announced that the King of the Ring tournament would return after a four year hiatus as a SmackDown!-exclusive tournament. The tournament ended at Judgment Day 2006 with Booker T as the winner, defeating Bobby Lashley in the final.

On June 9, 2006, Tazz left the SmackDown! brand to join the new ECW brand, leaving the color commentator position on SmackDown! vacant. However, on June 11 at One Night Stand 2006, JBL revealed that he would be the new color commentator for SmackDown! He stayed in that position until December 2007 when he left SmackDown! to become an in-ring competitor on Raw. Jonathan Coachman replaced him afterwards.

The CW Network

2006

Variations of the SmackDown! fist and mirrors set were used from August 16, 2001 - January 18, 2008.

On September 22, 2006, Friday Night SmackDown! debuted on the The CW Television Network, a joint venture between CBS Corporation, owner of UPN, and Warner Bros. Entertainment, a subsidiary of Time Warner, majority owner of The WB.

For four weeks before the official premiere (and in preparation for the impending removal of UPN in several markets by the debut of MyNetworkTV on September 5, 2006) of Friday Night SmackDown! on the CW on September 22, 2006, Tribune Broadcasting television stations in six major markets (including WPIX in New York City and KTLA in Los Angeles) aired WWE's Friday Night SmackDown! early in September 2006. Two other future affiliates of The CW, WCWJ in Jacksonville, Florida and WIWB in Green Bay, Wisconsin, also aired SmackDown! in early September as well.

The transition to the CW caused an interruption in the broadcast of SmackDown! in the state of Utah beginning in June when KPNZ in Salt Lake City stopped airing all UPN programs early. The show is now seen on KUCW. In Hawaii, SmackDown! returned in late 2006, airing on a CW digital subchannel of Honolulu's FOX affiliate KHON (Channel 2), which has received statewide carriage over Oceanic Time Warner Cable. Since the move to the CW Network, Friday Night SmackDown! has shown a major increase in ratings now averaging a 3.0 national rating. In addition, SmackDown! has become the second highest watched program on The CW.

2007

On April 20, 2007, SmackDown! celebrated its 400th episode. Ratings success soon followed. On June 8, 2007, Friday Night SmackDown! made CW history by making a three-way tie with CBS and ABC in the key ad demographic, adults 18-49 by drawing a 1.5 rating each. On June 22, 2007, Friday Night 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 since America's Next Top Model in March 2007. The next week on June 29, 2007, Friday Night SmackDown! helped The CW claim the top spot in the key demographic, Adults 18-49 for Friday. CBS got the overall lead but The CW got top spot for the Adults 18-49 by registering a 1.4 rating followed by CBS and NBC at 1.3, ABC at 1.2, and FOX at 0.9. Then on Friday, July 13, 2007, Friday Night 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 is the first time anything has placed this well on The 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.

On October 16, 2007 it was announced that the SmackDown! and ECW brands would begin a "talent exchange", allowing their respective talent to appear and compete on either brand, due to the fact that ECW is broadcast live on the same night and from the same arena where Smackdown is taped.

2008

In January 2008, SmackDown! debuted in HD with Raw and ECW and dropped the exclamation point from the end of its name. The "SmackDown fist" was removed as well as all WWE shows started using the same, standard set. On February 8, 2008 it was reported that World Wrestling Entertainment and The CW had ended negotiations to keep Friday Night SmackDown on the network. WWE stated that negotiations with other networks has begun and that Friday Night SmackDown would continue to air on The CW through the end of the 2007-2008 broadcast season. On February 26 WWE issued a press release announcing Friday Night SmackDown's move to MyNetworkTV. On May 19, 2008, MyNetworkTV president, Greg Meidel, announced that WWE television would premiere on the network in October 2008, with a recap of WrestleMania XXIV being shown on October 2, 2008, and SmackDown premiering on October 3, 2008.

In April 2008, Mick Foley replaced Jonathan Coachman as Color commentator. Following the 2008 WWE Draft, Jim Ross became the new play-by-play announcer for SmackDown, while Michael Cole moved to Raw. The WWE Champion Triple H was also drafted to SmackDown, which gave SmackDown two world championships to be featured on the brand. On June 30, 2008 on Monday Night Raw, CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated the World Heavyweight Champion Edge, bringing the World Heavyweight Championship back to Raw. In August 2008, Tazz replaced Foley as the color commentator.

MyNetworkTV

Friday Night SmackDown debuted on MyNetworkTV in the United States on October 3, 2008, which featured performers from the Raw, ECW, and SmackDown programs. WWE 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 beating out its former broadcaster The CW. The premiere was also first place in male 18-49 demographics.

Induction into Merriam-Webster

On July 10, 2007, Merriam-Webster announced it would induct the word smackdown into Webster's Dictionary. According to Merriam Webster, a "smackdown" is:

• The act of knocking down or bringing down an opponent
• A contest in entertainment wrestling
• A decisive defeat
• A confrontation between rivals or competitors

Production

SmackDown's version of the universal WWE HD set used from January 21, 2008 -present.

Friday Night SmackDown is usually taped on Tuesday evening and aired Friday evening on MyNetworkTV the same week. Occasionally, it is taped on Monday nights before or after Raw in what is called a "Supershow". SmackDown has also aired live on occasion.

The most recent theme song for SmackDown was "Rise Up 2006" by Drowning Pool, a new version of "Rise Up!" performed by new lead singer Ryan McCombs and featured as a bonus downloadable track on the WWE Wreckless Intent album. It debuted a new as yet untitled theme song on its MyNetworkTV debut.

Friday Night SmackDown began broadcasting in HD beginning with the January 25, 2008 edition of SmackDown, where a new set debuted that is shared among all three WWE brands. Following the first broadcast in HD, the iconic exclamation mark used since the show's inception was removed from all references pertaining to "SmackDown" including the official logo.

Special episodes

Episode title	Date	Rating	Note
SmackDown! Xtreme	February 1, 2001	4.0	One night special.
9/11 Tribute	September 13, 2001	3.6	Tribute in memory of 9/11.
Christmas from Baghdad	December 25, 2003	3.0	Honored American armed forces.
Christmas from Baghdad	December 23, 2004	3.0	Honored American armed forces.
SmackDown! Night of Champions	December 30, 2004
Eddie Guerrero Tribute Show	November 18, 2005	3.1	Tribute in memory of Eddie Guerrero.
SmackDown! Special	November 25, 2005	3.2
Best of SmackDown! 2005	December 23, 2005	1.8	Featured clips from matches of 2005
SmackDown! 400th episode	April 20, 2007	2.4	Celebrated 400th episode.
WWE Best of 2007	December 28, 2007	2.5	Featured clips from matches of 2007
SmackDown All-Star Kick-Off	October 3, 2008	1.9	Featured a Champion vs. Champion vs. Champion Match

Seasonal rankings (based on average total estimated viewers per episode) of SmackDown! on UPN, The CW and MyNetworkTV

WWF SmackDown! set used 1999-2001

Season	Timeslot	Network	Season	Rank	Viewers (in millions)
1st	Thursday 8/7C	UPN	1999-2000	N/A	7.2
2nd	Thursday 8/7C	UPN	2000-2001	90	7.1
3rd	Thursday 8/7C	UPN	2001-2002	111	6.5
4th	Thursday 8/7C	UPN	2002-2003	114	5.4
5th	Thursday 8/7C	UPN	2003-2004	140	5.1
6th	Thursday 8/7C	UPN	2004-2005	106	5.1
7th	Friday 8/7C	UPN	2005-2006	120	4.3
8th	Friday 8/7C	CW	2006-2007	120	4.5
9th	Friday 8/7C	CW	2007-2008	119	4.6
10th	Friday 8/7C	MyNetworkTV	2008-2009

On-air personalities

Champions

Championship	Current champion(s)	Date won	Date aired
WWE Championship	Triple H	April 27, 2008	April 27, 2008
WWE United States Championship	Shelton Benjamin	July 20, 2008	July 20, 2008
WWE Divas Championship	Michelle McCool	July 20, 2008	July 20, 2008
WWE Tag Team Championship	Carlito and Primo Colón	September 26, 2008	September 26, 2008

General Managers

General Manager	Date Started	Date Finished	Notes
Stephanie McMahon	July 18, 2002	October 19, 2003	Fired after losing an "I Quit" match to Mr. McMahon.
Paul Heyman	October 23, 2003	March 22, 2004	Quit position after drafted to Raw.
Kurt Angle	March 25, 2004	July 22, 2004	Fired by Mr. McMahon for faking injury as GM, but was put back on active roster.
Theodore Long	July 29, 2004	September 21, 2007	Vickie Guerrero acted as "Assistant General Manager" from May - September 2007.
Vickie Guerrero	September 28, 2007	Present	Became General Manager after Long had a heart attack. Long served as "Assistant General Manager" from November 2007 - May 2008.

Commentators

Play-by-play	Color	Year(s)
Michael Cole	Jim Cornette	Special - April 29th, 1999
Jim Ross	Jerry Lawler	Pilot - August 26th, 1999
Michael Cole	Jerry Lawler	September 1999 - February 2001
Michael Cole	Tazz	February 2001 - November 2001
Michael Cole	Jerry Lawler	November 2001 - March 2002
Michael Cole	Tazz	March 2002 - June 2006
Michael Cole	JBL	June 2006 - December 2007
Michael Cole	Jonathan Coachman	January 2008 - April 2008
Michael Cole	Mick Foley	April 2008 - June 2008
Jim Ross	Mick Foley	June 2008 - August 2008
Jim Ross	Tazz	August 2008 - Present

Ring announcers

Ring announcer	Year(s)
Tony Chimel	April 1999 - September 2007
Justin Roberts	September 2007 - Present

Recurring segments

Segment	Host	Year(s)	Notes
Piper's Pit	Roddy Piper	2003	In-ring interview segment.
$1,000,000 Tough Enough	Al Snow	2004	WWE Tough Enough competition segment.
Kurt Angle Invitational	Kurt Angle	2004 - 2005	Three minute match challenge for Angle's Olympic Gold Medals. Discontinued after Angle was drafted to Raw.
Carlito's Cabana	Carlito	2008- Present	In-ring interview segment.
Peep Show	Christian	2005	In-ring interview segment. Discontinued following Christian's departure from WWE.
WWE Diva Search	The Miz	2006 (The Miz was the host of 2006 Diva Search)	WWE Diva Search competition segment.
Miz TV	The Miz	2007 (Miz Got Drafted to ECW)	In-ring interview segment. Discontinued after Miz was drafted to ECW.
Masterlock Challenge	Chris Masters	2007	Submission challenge to break Masters' Masterlock hold. Discontinued following Masters' departure from WWE.
The Cutting Edge	Edge	2007 - Present	In-ring interview segment.
V.I.P. Lounge	MVP	2007 - Present	In-ring interview segment.

International broadcasters

Country	Network
United States	MyNetworkTV and AFN Xtra
Israel	Sport 5+
Canada	The Score Network and CJNT (E! Montreal)
Turkey	S'nek
Bangladesh, India and Pakistan	Ten Sports
Germany	DSF
UK and Republic of Ireland	Sky Sports 3
Italy	Sky Italia
Finland	Urheilukanava
Portugal	TVI
Dominican Republic	Antena Latina Channel 7
Puerto Rico	WAPA and MyNetworkTV
Ecuador	Teleamazonas
Chile	Chilevisión
Malaysia	TV3
Samoa	SBC
Mexico	Azteca 7 (Debuting October 3, 2008)
Australia	FOX8
New Zealand	The BOX
Bulgaria	GTV
Philippines	Jack TV and C/S 9
Peru	ATV
Spain	Cuatro
Romania	Sport.ro
Serbia	FOX Televizija
Saudi Arabia and Middle East	Showtime Arabia and ShowSports 4
France	NT1
Japan	J Sports
South Africa	e.tv
Fiji Islands	Super Channel (Channel 10)
El Salvador	VTV
Argentina	Canal 9
Honduras	TVC Canal 5
Panama	Canal 4 RP
Singapore	Super Sports
South Korea	tvN
Belgium	AB3

See also

• World Wrestling Entertainment roster (SmackDown Brand)
• WWE Velocity
• WWE Raw
• Extreme Championship Wrestling (WWE)

External links

• WWE Friday Night SmackDown at MyNetworkTV.com