5 things that could change on WWE Smackdown Live on Fox and 5 things that will stay the same
WWE made a major power move by getting their show on the Fox network. What will change in this new landscape, and what will remain the same?
Smackdown was originally entitled Thursday Night Smackdown, and earned its name for several reasons. The Thursday Night part was obvious; WCW had begun airing a Thursday night show as well, WCW Thunder. It got decent enough ratings to worry WWE's back office, who wanted to push their own show into that time slot.
The show was named Smackdown for one simple reason; The original idea of the show was that it was going to star the People's champion, the Rock. Rock was fond of saying he was going to lay the 'smackdown' on opponents.
But the show did not remain on Thursday nights, or even on the original network, UPN--which eventually folded into the CW network. The CW should have been pleased with the high ratings garnered by the program, but for reasons unknown they decided not to renew their contract with WWE in 2010. For a time the show was on the SyFy channel, which had already aired the short lived ECW broadcast revival.
Smackdown would change again, this time to Thursday nights on the USA network, the past and future home of WWE's flagship show, Raw. Now, in 2019, the show will be airing on the Fox network. However, unlike previous incarnations, the network has made it clear they want certain things out of the Smackdown telecast.
Here are five things that might change on Smackdown when it moves to Fox, and five that will likely remain the same.
Might Change on Smackdown: Less comedy
Fox is unlike any other network WWE has worked with hitherto now. Unlike the USA network,or Spike TV, or the CW/UPN, Fox is one of the 'big four' broadcasting companies that also includes NBC, CBS, and ABC. Even in the days of streaming services and the internet, a network still can lay claim to a massive audience.
Those kind of numbers would indicate that Fox has a great deal of clout when dealing with the WWE. One thing that has been rumored about the new Smackdown show is that Fox wants less comedy acts. This would preclude many of the shenanigans which take place on a regular basis in the WWE. But if the network wants it, they will probably get their way.