This came about after the WWF purchased their biggest competitor, WCW, and they decided to bring in talent from the then out-of-business ECW.
#WWE RAW 2002 WATCH ONLINE TV#
This meant that the two WWF TV shows ( RAW and SmackDown!) would become competition for each other. The WWF underwent something they called the "Brand Extension". They would remain that way, with an American Flag on the mini-tron, for two weeks. The ring ropes are usually blue for the SmackDown! shows but were red, white and blue for this night these colors were commonly used during the 1980s and through the 1990s. On September 13, 2001, SmackDown! was broadcast live from Houston (with Jim Ross and Paul Heyman filling in as hosts Michael Cole and Tazz were absent) as the first major and televised event since the attacks as thousands were in attendance. The Septemtaping event was cancelled due to the terrorist attacks. The last SmackDown! to use the previous television set saw Alliance member Rhyno deliver the Gore to WWF member Chris Jericho through the OvalTron destroying part of the set, and this was the storyline reason for the change. Throughout the show's early existence, top WWF superstar The Rock routinely called SmackDown! "his" show, in reference to the fact that the name was derived from one of his catchphrases, "Laying the smack down." In August 2001, as part of celebrating SmackDown!'s 2nd anniversary, the show received a new logo and set. An added feature to the original set was the ability for the OvalTron to be moved to either the left or right of the stage. The first SmackDown! set was also unique as it featured an oval-shaped TitanTron (which was dubbed the "OvalTron"), entrance and stage which made it stand out from the RAW set and its rectangular TitanTrons. The original SmackDown! theme was not performed by a band like the RAW is WAR theme instead, the WWF created a fast-paced theme that was a mixture of techno and rock. , made heavy use of the color blue, earning it the nickname "The Blue Show" amongst wrestling fans. The new WWF show was so popular that WCW moved Thunder to Wednesdays in the hope of holding on to fans rather than losing them to the WWF. Like WCW Thunder, SmackDown! was recorded on Tuesdays and then broadcast on Thursdays. On August 26, 1999, SmackDown! officially debuted on UPN. SmackDown! first appeared on Apusing the RAW is WAR set as a single television special on UPN. However, this did not work out, and instead SmackDown! became a complementary show to RAW is WAR. In the spirit of the WWF's Attitude Era, the show was originally planned to be two hours of WWF Divas in primetime TV. WWF SmackDown! (as it was originally known) was set up to compete against WCW's Thursday night show, Thunder. For international broadcast listings, see below. It is the second longest running weekly episodic television show in US history behind Monday Night Raw.ĭue to time differences, SmackDown premieres a few hours earlier in Ireland and United Kingdom and a day earlier in Australia, India and Philippines than the United States. On July 19, 2016, SmackDown moved to Tuesday nights and aired live on USA Network. Since January 7, 2016, SmackDown moved to USA Network, with its final Thursday night broadcast being on July 14, 2016. Since January 15, 2015, episodes are airing on Thursdays for the first time in 9 years. SmackDown moved to Syfy on Octo(additional information can be seen further down this page). The show remained on the CW network for two years until it was announced that it would move to MyNetworkTV in October 2008. The show originally debuted in the United States on the UPN television network on August 26, 1999, but after the merger of UPN and the WB, SmackDown began airing on The CW in 2006. The show's name was also used to refer to the SmackDown brand, in which WWE employees were assigned to work and perform on that program during the brand extension period of 2002 to 2011 the other program and brand was Raw.įrom its launch in 1999, SmackDown broadcast on Thursday nights, but as of September 9, 2005, the show moved to Friday nights. Starting on July 19, 2016, the show was aired as WWE SmackDown Live. From January 15, 2015, the show was aired as WWE Thursday Night SmackDown. As of October 4, 2019, it airs on FOX in the United States as WWE Friday Night SmackDown.
#WWE RAW 2002 WATCH ONLINE PROFESSIONAL#
AugPresent WWE SmackDown is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).