| WWE SmackDown! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Format | Sports Entertainment Professional Wrestling |
| Created By | Vince McMahon |
| Starring | WWE Personnel |
| Opening Theme | "Born 2 Run" by 7Lion |
| No. of Seasons | 16 |
| No. of Episodes | 832 (as of July 30, 2015) |
WWE SmackDown! (also known as Thursday Night SmackDown!, or simply known as SmackDown) is a professional wrestling television program for WWE which was previously referred to the brand of the same name until its discontinuation in 2011 in which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform on that program. As of 2010, it airs weekly on Syfy in the United States.
From its launch in 1999, SmackDown! was broadcast on Thursday nights, but is now shown on Friday nights since 2005. The show originally debuted in the United States on the UPN television network on April 29, 1999, but after the merger of UPN and the WB, SmackDown! began airing on The CW in 2006. The show remained on the CW network for two years until it was moved to MyNetworkTV in October 2008. SmackDown moved to Syfy on October 1, 2010.
Since its first episode, WWE SmackDown has been broadcast from 162 different arenas, in 147 cities and towns, in seven different nations (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Iraq in 2006 and 2007 for specials Tribute to the Troops, Japan in 2005, Italy in 2007, and Mexico in 2011).
History
Original Format (1999-2001)
The early set featured an oval-shaped TitanTron entrance and stage (dubbed the "OvalTron") which made it stand out from the Raw set with its rectangular TitanTrons. Later productions gained the ability to move the OvalTron either to the left or to the right of the stage. Throughout the show's early existence, The Rock routinely called SmackDown! "his" show, in reference to the fact that the name was derived from one of his catchphrases, "Lay the smackdown". In August 2001, as part of celebrating SmackDown!'s second anniversary, the show received a new logo and set. The last SmackDown! to use the previous entrance stage saw Alliance member Rhyno gore federation member Chris Jericho through the center screen, destroying part of the set. As a result of that incident, the new set consisted of a fist centered above the entrance, and many glass panes along the sides strongly resembling shattered glass.
Brand Extension (2002-2005)
Move to Friday Nights with various networks (2005-Present)
Production
From October 26, 2012, WWE SmackDown began using "Born 2 Run" by 7Lions as its theme song, with "This Life" by Cody B. Ware serving as the secondary theme, since November 22, 2013. Prior to that date, SmackDown opened with "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day while "Hangman" by Rev Theory served as the secondary theme song. Upon SmackDown's debut on Syfy it replaced the previous theme song "Let it Roll" by Divide the Day.
WWE tapes SmackDown on Tuesday evenings to air Friday evenings on Syfy the same week. However, SmackDown has aired occasional live specials on Tuesday nights (which are then replayed in its usual Friday night time slot as well).
The show began broadcasting in HD beginning with the January 25, 2008 edition of SmackDown, where a new set (which became universal for all WWE weekly programming) debuted. Following the first broadcast in HD, the exclamation mark used since the show's inception disappeared from all references pertaining to "SmackDown", including the official logo, which resembles the 2001-08 logo but with a darker blue scheme. As of August 3, 2012, the show has used the modified WWE HD universal set, which debuted at Raw 1000 on July 23.
From September 21-October 26, 2012, WWE worked in conjunction with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to raise awareness for breast cancer by adorning the SmackDown set with pink ribbons and a special pink middle-rope in the ring. This design was used again from October 4-November 1, 2013. SmackDown's ring ropes were usually blue from 1999 to 2012 (although they were black for a period between 2001 and 2002). They remained blue until December 2012 when they changed them to white, with all WWE programming now using white ring ropes.