WWE SmackDown

Also known as WWE Friday Night SmackDown, WWE SmackDown Live, WWE Friday Night SmackDown Live, SmackDown!

American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE

OverviewAI-generated

WWE SmackDown, also known as WWE Friday Night SmackDown, is a reality television series created by Vince McMahon. The show has aired on various networks, including FOX, USA Network, UPN, The CW, Syfy, and MyNetworkTV. It is currently a returning series with a runtime of 120 minutes. The program is produced in English and has been categorized under genres such as Reality, Drama, Comedy, and Action.

The series first aired on April 29, 1999, and has continued to broadcast, with a last air date listed as May 29, 2026. Different sources provide varying counts for the show's length; one lists 25 seasons and 1,347 episodes, while another records 28 seasons and 1,403 episodes. The show has received a vote average of 7.5 and a rating of 4.2.

Synthesized by Vinony from 27 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, Tvmaze, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

TV series · TMDB

★ 7.5

The superstars of World Wrestling Entertainment's "SmackDown" brand collide each and every Friday on WWE Friday Night SmackDown.

Aired: 1999–2026
Seasons: 28 · 1403 episodes
Status: Returning Series
Created by: Vince McMahon
Network: FOX, USA Network, UPN, The CW, Syfy, MyNetworkTV
Genres: Reality

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

TV series

Status: Running
Network: USA Network
Genres: Drama, Comedy, Action
Runtime: 120 min
TVMaze rating: 4.2/10

Official site →TVMaze →

Key facts

Also known as: SmackDown! (1999–2008) , SmackDown Live (2016–2019)
Genre: Professional wrestling
Created by: Vince McMahon
Written by: John Swikata (Lead Writer) Ryan Ward (Lead Writer) See list of SmackDown creative writers
Presented by: Joe Tessitore (play-by-play commentator) Wade Barrett (color commentator)
Starring: SmackDown roster
Opening theme: " Neva Play " by Megan Thee Stallion ft. RM
Country of origin: United States
Executive producers: Paul "Triple H" Levesque (2024–present), Lee Fitting (2024–present)
Production locations: Various Arenas and other sports venues (1999-2020, 2021-2026) WWE Performance Center (2020) WWE Thunderdome (2020-2021)
Camera setup: Multi-camera setup
Running time: 120 minutes (August 26, 1999–December 27, 2024, July 4, 2025–December 26, 2025) 180 minutes (January 3–June 27, 2025, January 2, 2026–present) (including commercials)
Production company: World Wrestling Entertainment, LLC
Network: UPN
Release: August 26, 1999 ( 1999-08-26 ) –, September 15, 2006 ( 2006-09-15 )

via Wikipedia infobox

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Encyclopedic overview

WWE SmackDown, also known as Friday Night SmackDown or simply SmackDown, is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United States, and in most international markets on Netflix. The show features characters from the SmackDown brand, to which WWE wrestlers are assigned to work and perform. SmackDown debuted on August 26, 1999 and is considered to be one of WWE's two flagship programs, along with Monday Night Raw.

Originally launched as a complementary second show to Raw, SmackDown became further distinct after the WWE brand split in 2002, representing the company's talent in the SmackDown brand roster. It has been taped in and broadcast from over hundreds of arenas and cities throughout twelve countries, mostly in the United States but also in Canada, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia. Prior to switching to its current live format, taped episodes premiered a few hours or up to a day earlier in certain countries outside the United States due to time differences.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “WWE SmackDown” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.