IWE SmackDown
From Iwe
| IWE Smackdown | ||
| Genre | Sports entertainment Professional wrestling | |
| Created by | Vince Matteson | |
| Presented by | Scott Stanford (Pre-show) Renee Young (Post-show Talking Smack) | |
| Starring | Smackdown brand | |
| Opening theme | "Take A Chance" by CFO$ "Unstoppable" by CFO$ (Bumper) "Big Surprise" by Jim Johnston (Bumper) | |
| Country of origin | United States | |
| No. of seasons | 17 | |
| No. of episodes | 901 (as of November 22, 2016) | |
| Production | ||
| Camera setup | Multicamera setup | |
| Running time | 120 minutes (including commercials) | |
| Broadcast | ||
| Original channel | UPN (1999–2006) The CW (2006–2008) MyNetworkTV (2008–2010) Syfy (2010–December 31, 2015 USA Network (January 7, 2016–present) | |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) | |
| Original release | April 29, 1999 – present | |
| Chronology | ||
| Related shows | IWE Raw IWE NXT IWE Main Event IWE Superstars | |
| External links | ||
IWE SmackDown, also known as SmackDown Live, or simply SmackDown is a sports entertainment television program that debuted on August 26, 1999. The show's name is also used to refer to the SmackDown brand, in which IWE employees are assigned to work and perform on that program; the other program and brand currently being Raw. It is currently the only television broadcast for the SmackDown brand, though at one point IWE Velocity also featured SmackDown branded wrestling.
Prior to September 1, 2005, SmackDown! was broadcast on Thursday nights; from September 9, 2005 to January 9, 2015, it was broadcast on Friday nights. The show returned to Thursday nights on January 15, 2015. SmackDown! 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 September 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 and remained there until December 31, 2015. A week later, on January 7, 2016, SmackDown moved to its sister channel, USA Network. It complements IWE Raw as the second of IWE's two main weekly programs.
In its history, IWE 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). Due to time differences, SmackDown! premieres a few hours earlier in Ireland and the United Kingdom and a day earlier in Australia, Canada, Singapore and Philippines than the United States, except for live episodes. For international broadcast listings, see below. The show celebrated its 15th anniversary on October 10, 2014.
As of July 19, 2016, SmackDown is broadcast live on Tuesday nights.
Contents |
History
Original format (1999–2005)
Brand Extension (2002-2005)
- Main article: IWE Brand Extension
Changing channels (2006-2010)
The CW (2006–2008)
MyNetworkTV (2008–2010)
NBCUniversal (2010-present)
Syfy and end of Brand Extension (2010–2015)
Return to Thursday nights (2015)
USA Network (2016–present)
Move to Tuesday nights and second Brand Extension (2016–present)
Production
Theme music
| Song Title | Written and/or Sung by | Dates used | Ref |
|---|
Cultural references
Special episodes
- Main article: List of IWE SmackDown special episodes
Throughout its broadcast history, the show has aired editions that have different themes. These include tributes to various professional wrestlers who have recently died or retired from actively performing, as well as episodes commemorating various show milestones or anniversaries.
On-air personalities
- Main article: List of IWE Smackdown on-air personalities
Champions
- See also: List of current champions in IWE
During the first brand extension from 2002 to 2011, championships exclusive to SmackDown were only seen on that brand. On July 19, 2016 the brand extension was brought back, again resulting in SmackDown-exclusive championships, which are listed below:
| IWE SmackDown | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | Current champions(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location | Notes |
| IWE Championship | Jinder Mahal | 1 | May 21, 2017 | 27 | Rosemont, Illinois, United States | Defeated Kevin Orton at Backlash. |
| IWE United States Championship | KJ Styles | 1 | July 7, 2017 | 1 | New York City, New York, United States | Defeated Kevin Owens at a IWE live event at MSG. |
| IWE SmackDown Women's Championship | Naomi | 2 | April 2, 2017 | 76 | Orlando, Florida, United States | Defeated Becky Lynch, Carmella, Mickie James, Natalya and previous champion, Alexa Bliss in a six-pack challenge at WrestleMania 33. |
| IWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship | The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jay Uso) | 1 (1, 1) | March 21, 2017 | 88 | Rosemont, Illinois, United States | Defeated American Alpha on SmackDown |
