WWE SmackDown Tickets
Since its creation in 1999, SmackDown has been a parallel show to its WWE counterpart Raw, and since 2002, has worked as a separate division featuring its own roster from the Raw series. Many of the top wrestlers have wrestled as a part of the SmackDown show, including Chris Jericho and The Rock in its early years and wrestlers such as Kurt Angle, Booker T, and John Cena later on. The show has aired on a variety of networks, starting on UPN, before moving to The CW, MyNetworkTV, and to its current home on Syfy.
2002 was a turning point for SmackDown as in the aftermath of the WWE’s takeover of both WCW and the ECW, Raw and SmackDown featured their own divisions with separate rosters, and storylines. This caused wrestlers to become show-exclusive, with WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar choosing SmackDown. The WWE instated a draft lottery to keep the lineups variable and to create new storylines. One instance of this draft lottery mixing things up is when John Cena moved from SmackDown to Raw, it created a void in the championship. After a tournament was created amongst SmackDown’s top six wrestlers, it was announced that they had drafted Batista, Raw’s former champion, and he would fill the void.
SmackDown’s next peak came in 2007. After moving to The CW, SmackDown’s average rating climbed to a 3.0. The CW brought incredible ratings success to the program, including claiming the top spot in a key demographic during one episode, and following that up with being the most watched show in the 9 PM hour on network television. In what was once seen as a death wish for a TV show became SmackDown’s strength.
SmackDown not only revolutionized Friday night TV, but also the competition within. In 2008, SmackDown introduced the WWE Divas Championship, the first such championship for women on the SmackDown show. SmackDown is also noted for being the second-longest running weekly episodic television series in America behind its WWE counterpart Raw. Despite not reaching the same ratings heights of its beginnings at the height of popularity of wrestling, or its resurgence on The CW, SmackDown has maintained a strong and loyal audience. SmackDown airs every Friday, as well as the occasional live special on Tuesday nights.
