Regarding RAW stars appearing on SmackDown now that the RAW Supershows have been announced, it’s believed that they won’t be on every Friday episode because of the extra day of travel that would be added to their schedules.

Labels: RAW, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

Matches for tonight’s WWE SmackDown on SyFy include Sin Cara vs. Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett vs. Intercontinental Champion Ezekiel Jackson, Yoshi Tatsu vs. Jinder Mahal, The Usos vs. Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater, plus Kane vs. Christian in a #1 contender’s match.

Labels: smackdown, wade barrett

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

Matches on tonight’s WWE SmackDown include Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan, Ezekiel Jackson vs. Big Show, Layla vs. Alicia Fox, Tyson Kidd vs. Sin Cara and Randy Orton vs. Christian for the World Heavyweight Title.

Labels: sheamus, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments

WWE and SyFy sent out a press release yesterday for this Friday’s 600th episode of SmackDown, noting that the show was about to pass Lassie in total weekly episodes. They wrote:

“After more than a decade on television, Friday Night Smackdown will reach its milestone 600th episode this Friday, February 18, at 8 PM (ET/PT) on Syfy, moving past Lassie into third place for the most weekly episodic programs in TV history.SmackDown also has aired more total episodes than iconic television shows such as The Simpsons, Married With Children and Law & Order.”

Labels: smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments

Booker T’s talks with WWE about a return go back to the Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view in Houston, Texas in December. Booker was backstage visiting and expressed interest in returning. No contract was signed then and while he kept talking with TNA, a deal was in place with WWE for him to be a Royal Rumble surprise.

As noted last night, Booker T will now be an announcer on Friday Night SmackDown. Booker is expected to do the occasional storyline and match, similar to Jerry Lawler.

Labels: booker t, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tonight’s three-hour RAW will kick off at 8pm EST from the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. Tonight’s show will have a “Viewer’s Choice” theme with Superstars from RAW and SmackDown plus the cast of the movie A-Team as special guest hosts.

Matches will be announced later today. An eight-man tag match with John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton and Big Show vs. Sheamus, Edge, CM Punk and Jack Swagger is advertised as the dark main event.

Labels: big show, randy orton, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:37 PM | Permalink | Comments

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

There is a great deal of discussion within the locker room of doing a week where the SmackDown crew does RAW, and the RAW crew does SmackDown. The idea originally was brought forth when the RAW crew suffered numerous delays on the UK. Had they made their return to the US on Tuesday, the RAW crew would have worked this week’s SmackDown.

Talks of the idea lead to creative possibly having the RAW and SmackDown crew’s switching it up in the Summer time, and again in the Fall, with another switch up in the final week prior to the Bragging Rights PPV.

Labels: RAW, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE.com has made it official that Smackdown is "invading" RAW tonight due to the travel restrictions in Europe:

"With the volcanic eruption in Europe stranding the majority of the Raw roster, WWE's flagship show is going blue. Even as the cast of the film MacGruber takes the reins as special guest hosts for the potentially cataclysmic show in East Rutherford, N.J., Triple H prepares to share the ring with several top Smackdown Superstars."

Although Raw is trapped in Belfast, Ireland, the SmackDown Superstars were able to arrive in Newark by charter early this morning, after traveling through the night by bus to get to a place where they could take off.

Can the cast of MacGruber control the molten-hot situation that could erupt on Raw? Find out tonight at 9/ 8 CT only on USA Network."

Labels: RAW, smackdown, triple h

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

Here’s the official announcement from WWE regarding SmackDown’s move to SyFy:

SMACKDOWN GOES SYFY

World Wrestling Entertainment(R) and Syfy announced today a multi-year agreement that brings Friday Night SmackDown(R) to the “Imagine Greater” network beginning in October 2010. Friday Night SmackDown will premiere on its new home October 1st at 8:00 PM ET. The program, which debuted more than 10 years ago, is one of the longest-running, weekly episodic shows on television.

Syfy’s original Friday night drama series will move to Tuesday night, where hit series such as Warehouse 13 and Eureka have yielded unprecedented ratings success. WWE NXT(TM) will leave Syfy in October as Friday Night SmackDown joins the schedule.

“WWE(R) is the ultimate in imagination-based sports entertainment. The fantastical thrills of Friday Night SmackDown provide an ideal addition to the Syfy slate, as it targets the younger male and female demographics, which are the fastest growing categories for WWE,” said Dave Howe, President, Syfy. “With Tuesday night, a proven winner for our original drama series including Warehouse 13, there is bigger opportunity for series such as Stargate Universe, Sanctuary and Caprica to thrive on a night with a significantly larger number of viewers available to watch live.”

“Syfy is a terrific partner and we look forward to bringing our proven ratings winner and ten year television institution, Friday Night SmackDown, to the network,” said WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. “With this move, WWE is thrilled to be expanding its long-standing relationship with the NBC Universal family.”

Friday Night SmackDown averages more than 3.4 million viewers a week and is currently the most watched TV program on Friday nights among Males under 55 and beats all Friday primetime programming on ABC, NBC, FOX and CW among Men 18-34*. The two hour television program will be presented weekly on Syfy and features a star-studded cast of WWE Superstars and Divas including Undertaker(R), Edge(R), Rey Mysterio(R), Chris Jericho(R), CM Punk(R), Michelle McCool(R), Beth Phoenix(TM) and Layla(TM).

Labels: beth phoenix, michelle mccool, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

The following is scheduled to take place on tonight's edition of WWE SmackDown:

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match
Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison vs. R-Truth

Women's Title Match:
Mickie James vs. Michelle McCool

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match
Kane vs. Drew McIntyre

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match
Shelton Benjamin vs. CM Punk

Main Event
Edge vs. The Miz

Also, there will be appearances by Chris Jericho, Big Show and more.

Labels: money in the bank, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

It's been reported this week that major changes are coming to WWE in the early months of 2010, with the ECW brand likely being shut down. According to a report on PWInsider.com, WWE also has big changes in store for the SmackDown brand. The feeling is that Raw has enhanced its identity with the Guest Host concept and SmackDown needs something of its own to stand out. While nothing official has been decided on yet, it's believed that any big changes will take place after year ends.

Labels: ecw, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross posted the following message on WWE Universe about why he missed this week’s Smackdown taping:

“So, this week I asked for my first day off a TV taping in 16 years with WWE to celebrate our anniversary. I enjoyed being at home and doing husband stuff and not having to board an airplane even though I would have loved to have visited Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky again.”

Labels: jim ross, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE's three-disc DVD set looking back on the ten year history of SmackDown, The Best of Smackdown - 10th Anniversary 1999-2009, will be released on Tuesday, September 15th. Michael Cole and Matt Striker host a "Top 100 moments" countdown on the DVD.

Amazon.com has released a video trailer looking back at Brock Lesnar superplexing Big Show off the top rope on the June 12, 2003 edition of SmackDown, which caused the ring to collapse. This memorable moment was ranked as the second-best moment in the history of the program.

During the trailer, Santino Marella gives his comical take on incident. CM Punk, Michael Hayes and Matt Striker also chime in with their thoughts.

Labels: smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross is back with yet another blog update this weekend over at jrsbarbq.com. Here are some of the highlights:

- Backlash feels like a “sleeper” PPV & will likely bring with it some surprises.The match that may plesantly surprise us is the Steamboat-Jericho bout. I’m approaching this (unofficially) as Ricky’s last 1 on 1 bout. I have loved his work for years and admire him as an honorable man & one of the best fan favorites ever. Chris Jericho is the perfect opponent for “The Dragon” which makes this match even more intriging to me as a fan.

- I’ve been traveling some recently w/ Matt Striker on the road which I enjoy. Matt is a real student of the biz who wants to learn his craft. Plus, he’s a good “wheel man.” We’ll make our way to NYC after Backlash.

- I was hoping to hook up w/ JBL while in NYC but John is out of town next week. He did give me some BBQ joints to try. John is busy building his businesses which could include doing business w/ JR’s Family BBQ down the road.

- After this coming week, specifically Tuesday nite at MSG when MVP faces Dolph Ziggler for the U.S. Title, it looks as if WWE is going to be really serious about the brand separation. I hope that assumption is accurate. I like giving more talents the opportunity to become stars.

- I’m anxious to see what our announcer assignments will be for Backlash. Several bouts intrige me on what I perceive to be a largely “wrestling heavy” event. Backlash is sold out as is Monday’s Raw in Bridgeport and Smackdown Tuesday in MSG.

Labels: jim ross, matt striker, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Edge vs. Big Show match that took place on RAW this week was originally scheduled as the main event for the 500th SmackDown last week. Vince pulled it from SmackDown and put it on RAW after getting mad at Michael Hayes for trying to book a more loaded SmackDown with a major RAW vs. SmackDown interbrand match on top. Vince made a point about how there are more important things going on right now than the 500th SmackDown.

Labels: big show, edge, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

Friday Night's SmackDown is what I feel the start of what we'll be seeing a lot more of up to WrestleMania XXV. That of course is main event type stars changing brands and being on other shows on a weekly basis to start building feuds and what not before Mania gets going.

Friday night we saw John Cena "chase" Edge and Vicki over to SmackDown, and it seems like the company is setting up for a Cena vs Edge match at Mania. I can't help but think though that Cena's opponent on Friday night - The Big Show, is going to be in the mix in some fashion. Can you say - triple threat?

I have always liked Cena-Show matches, and Friday's match again was good, but of course you knew that Edge would get involved, which of course allowed Show to get the win with the choke slam. Overall though good match.

The Hardy brothers back and forth was weak. Does anyone remember when Undertaker refused to fight his brother Kane back 11 years ago? We all know what happened there, as since then the two have fought some 5,000 times. Now we'll have that chararde with Jeff and Matt, which will lead to the match at Mania between the pair.

Seems like the age of the Undertaker is really starting to show. I was a bit stunned to see him lose to Kozlov, and clean was even more of a shock. Taker just is starting to look old, and he'll be 44 years old on March 24th. Sure, he'll wrestle for about another 5 years probably, but the years of abuse in the ring seem to be showing.

The US Title run with Chavo, MVP and Shelton Benjamin is a very good feud. I can't wait till they finally announce a three-way with these three at Mania, which really is a match they should make. Chavo got a win over Benjamin, but in the end, with the belt on the line, this will be a good match if it's made.

The Colon vs Miz/Morrison match was a good open, and I hope they have a series of more matches, as these four seem to work well together.

Overall, a good night on SmackDown, and again, with Mania getting closer and closer, it's time for all the WWE shows to start picking up big time.

Labels: edge, john cena, smackdown, the big show

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments

WWE sent out the following press release today in response to the press release from MyNetworkTV that’s also below.

STAMFORD, CT – February 9, 2009 – In light of today’s announcement by MyNetworkTV, World Wrestling Entertainment® officials are certain that SmackDown has a bright future.

WWE SmackDown, airing on Friday nights at 8:00/7:00 PM Central on MyNetworkTV, is the number one program on Friday nights on all broadcast television for males under the age of 50, including the key advertiser demos, M12-17 and M18-34.

WWE SmackDown will enter its 10th consecutive year this Fall, attesting to the popularity and longevity of the brand.

Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment Inc (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

- Here’s the earlier press release from MyNetworkTV earlier:

NEW YORK (AP) - In a sign of the economic times, My Network TV says it will essentially become a rerun network next fall except for professional wrestling.

The move shows how the tough advertising climate is affecting television. Instead of developing new programs, it will show reruns of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and other series.

My Network TV will also stop programming on Saturday nights, leaving that night to their affiliates and owned stations.

Labels: smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments

Source: Wrestling Observer

The changes to WWE's TV tapings with double SmackDown tapings and ECW and RAW on the same night could run through WrestleMania and then be re-evaluated to see if the changes will stick.

Because of these changes in the schedules, some of the WWE Superstars will be losing money. The midcard guys could lose up to $1,000 a month and for some of the top guys, several thousand dollars a month. However, it also eases up the road schedule by two more days a month.

Each taping canceled saves WWE about $696,000 in production expenses and that doesn't include talent costs.

Labels: smackdown, wrestlemania 25

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

The premise behind Friday Night's SmackDown this past week was I guess to see what would happen when Jeff Hardy decided to go "extreme." That is if you consider "extreme" for the rainbow Warrior to come out, use a chair in the main event, and also get his tag team match with him and Triple H DQ'ed when he used a chair on Miz and Morrison in the semi-main event.

So where does that leave the show now? They will have a main next week with Hardy vs the Undertaker, which could be very good if done right. It also means, and this is not much of a shock whatsoever, that Triple H will take on Vladimir Kozlov in the SmackDown side main event at Survivor Series in a few weeks. This match has been in the works for awhile, and at least we'll see Kozlov enter the match undefeated (not for long though).

On to the rest of thw show, which kept my attention for the two hours on the air. The two mains with HHH & Hardy vs Miz and Morisson was good till the end, which was a rather lame ending. Same went for the main with Taker and Kozlov, which I thought would have been better with Show getting involved insted of a weird ending with Hardy.

That also leads us to another Survivor Series match which was announced last night, with Taker taking on Big Show in a casket match. It has the makings of what could be a good match, but at the same time, here's hoping that this is the end to this feud, which started way back when at Unforgiven.

We saw a couple other things out of the show, like the Bella Twins finally being reveled for the first time. Brie beat Victoria in a singles match, and then afterwords, Natalya pulled out Nikki out of the ring, finally showing the twins for the first time. I would assume next week we'll see a tag with the twins vs Victoria and Nayalya.

The Great Khali beat on MVP and did another interesting "Kiss Cam" with two rather large women from the crowd, Shelton Benjamin beat R-Truth to keep the US Title, and Ezekiel Jackson beat Jimmy Wang Yang as the other filler matches on the show. The Hardy stuff was the main point of the show, and we'll see where it goes next week from here.

Labels: jeff hardy, smackdown, triple h, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

We all know already that next week we are going to see Vladimir Kozlov take on the Undertaker with the stip being if Vlad wins, he gets a title shot at Triple H at Survivor Series. In other words - book it. Taker is coming off a casket match win over Chavo Guerrero on Smackdown Friday night, and what I can forsee is Vlad and Taker going at it, and this time Big Show gets his revenge and knocks out Taker, giving Kozlov the win and the title shot.

My question though is this - do you really want to see Triple H vs. Kozlov? I mean, can you actually see the big Russian being a true legit challenger to the “King of Kings”? I can’t. He’s your typical big man that can do some things in the ring, but overall his character is not much, and while I like them doing the undefeated angle, this one is not going to be very good.

Triple H has not exactly had the best of challengers since moving to SmackDown. We’ve had the Khali angle, which was painful enough, and now after a pretty good but in the end rather one-sided feud with Jeff Hardy, it’s not Kozlov’s turn.

Let’s grin and bear it, as the only thing I can see them coming up with next is a long feud with Edge and eventually they will move HHH on to the Undertaker, where these two SHOULD do battle at WrestleMania 25.

Labels: smackdown, the big show, triple h, undertaker, Vladimir Kozlov

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments