10 Things WWE Will Change Once SmackDown Debuts On Fox
With the blue brand jumping to Fox, what changes can we expect for Friday night SmackDown?
The debut of WWE on FOX is going to mark a historic television deal for the company. And with the weight of that milestone comes the pressure to deliver bigger than you ever have before. Vince will surely be reaching deep into his bag of tricks, especially with the looming presence of competition on Wednesday nights.
But a RAW Reunion type of show on Friday will not be enough to resurrect ratings overnight, as we have seen with version one on USA. WWE needs to prove they are building a new brand to go along with the name and network change. Because of this, we can expect to see a rapidly changing atmosphere both on the premiere and every Friday going forward.
Both inside and out of the squared circle, we can expect to see a refreshed version of SmackDown just in time for the beginning of a new era in wrestling. Expect some pyro and fireworks - both metaphorically and literally - not only on FOX, but as we embark upon a new dawn in the industry.
10. New Announce Teams
And the changes are clearly already approaching this "WWE Premiere Week". To quote WWE's press release: "SmackDown will feature Michael Cole handling play-by-play, Corey Graves serving as analyst and Renee Young as a Special Contributor." So basically, SmackDown has taken RAW's booth in its entirety, but it seems Renee Young may or may not have a reduced role. More on that later on, but for now the focus is on the new voices of the brands.
Interestingly enough, the RAW announce team is two rather lesser known faces in Vic Joseph (coming from 205 Live) and Dio Maddin (also from 205 Live and formerly NXT's Brennan Williams in the ring from 2016 until June of this year). These two will be joined by a much more familiar voice of Jerry Lawler, who has been away from full time commentating with the company since 2016.
And the results with Raw so far are... unimpressive to say the least. Thankfully, NXT's team will remain the same, and Mauro will continue referencing ALL of pop culture.
This is an interesting shift, with a clear focus on trying to present SmackDown with as many familiar voices as possible. It also leads to some speculation on if the brand will operate at times with a two man booth, as many have been asking for. Especially with Renee Young set to run...