WWE SmackDown is also known as Friday Night SmackDown and airs live every Friday at 8 pm ET on Fox. The show features wrestlers from the blue brand while a few wrestlers who are designated to the Raw brand make their appearance sometimes.
SmackDown is considered one of the two flagship shows in WWE that take place every week, along with Monday Night Raw. The first episode of SmackDown debuted in the United States on April 29, 1999. Back then, the show was held every Thursday.
WWF SmackDown! came into existence to compete against World Championship Wrestling (WCW)’s Thursday night show, Thunder.
When SmackDown! first made its appearance, it used RAW’s set as a single television special on UPN. On August 26, 1999, SmackDown officially debuted on UPN. Both SmackDown! and Thunder were recorded on Tuesdays and aired on Thursdays. SmackDown! was very successful and it forced WCW to move Thunder to Wednesday so that there was no clash.
Not many people know this but The Rock had a catchphrase, “Layeth the Smack down” and the name of WWE’s blue brand was inspired from there. During his promos, the Brahma Bull would refer to SmackDown! as his show.
Who are the current champions on SmackDown?
SmackDown has a great roster with the likes of Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, The Usos, Ricochet, Sheamus, and The New Day to name a few. In the women’s division, Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey, Natalya, and Shayna Baszler are some of the veterans while promising talents like Shotzi, Aliyah, and Xia Li also add a new dimension to the show.
The WWE Championship and Universal Champion were the world championships in the company and they belonged to the Raw and SmackDown respectively. This was until the Universal Champion Roman Reigns and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar decided to unify the titles at WrestleMania 38. In the all-important clash of the titans, the Tribal Chief triumphed and currently, he is the Unified WWE Champion. This allows him to feud with superstars from not only SmackDown but also Raw.
As for the Women’s Tag Team Championships, SmackDown’s Sasha Banks and Naomi are the current holders. As per the rule, they are eligible to defend their titles on Raw as well as SmackDown.
Ricochet is the Intercontinental Champion on the show while Charlotte Flair is the SmackDown Women’s Champion. The Usos are the SmackDown Tag Team Champions.
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