SmackDown debuts on Fox in three weeks, with a 20th Anniversary show from Los Angeles. The show will be live on the channel every Friday after that (live sports conflicts and times when WWE is touring overseas notwithstanding).
But a week before the Oct. 4 premiere episode, Fox will be airing a special to get fans excited for the return of pro wrestling to a broadcast network. PWInsider and Wrestling Observer both report a one hour “SmackDown’s Greatest Hits” show will air on Fri., Sept. 27 at 8PM Eastern.
The channel is well into promoting SmackDown, with a slick commercial and lots of mentions on Fox Sports biggest property, the National Football League. Clips of cool moments is a smart way to continue to build excitement for the show’s official start.
Will the current blue brand product capitalize on the hype?
In a similar move, The Observer also reports TNT will air an AEW special on Tues., Oct. 1 - the night before All Elite Wrestling’s live premiere from Washington, D.C. This makes sense for the same reason WWE & Fox’s plan does, but perhaps even more so, since AEW & TNT don’t have clips of Stone Cold Steve Austin or The Rock to rely on to sell their product.
SmackDown also doesn’t have head-to-head competition like Cody Rhodes & company will with NXT on USA.
We’ll see what happens. Buckle up.