World Series bumps Brock, Cain, Hogan & Flair to FS1

For the last SmackDown before heading to their semi-annual Saudia Arabian PPV, WWE plans to load up the Fri., Oct. 25 episode with their biggest stars, who will appeal to their widest possible audience. Brock Lesnar. Cain Velasquez. Hulk Hogan. Ric Flair.

It’s a line-up that could conceivably turn the ratings tide for the show. Not back to the four million-ish of the premiere, but better than the Raw-like numbers the Oct. 18 episode drew.

Unfortunately, the blue brand’s Crown Jewel ‘go home’ will be something of a lost episode in the ratings data. That’s because baseball’s World Series takes precedence for Fox, and barring any weather issues in the nation’s capital, Game Three between the Washington Nationals and either the Houston Astros or New York Yankees will be going head-to-head with WWE and taking their spot on the broadcast channel.

It was already announced on last night’s SmackDown that next week’s episode has been bumped to cable channel FS1.

This should be the last such issues for WWE until next year’s baseball playoffs. It’ll be interesting to see where SmackDown’s numbers are at that point. It may be more than just the World Series that Fox opts to run on their main network in fall of 2020.