20 Days That Changed WWE Forever
9. 29 April 1999 - WWF Lays The SmackDown!
By 1999, WWE had a license to print money and fans couldn't get enough of the product - so on 29 April, the company aired a prime time special on the UPN network, "SmackDown!" Named after The Rock's catchphrase, SmackDown! marked the first bit of WWF programming on network TV since Saturday Night's Main Event years earlier.
Content-wise, the show was nothing more than an extra episode of Raw, with all of the top stars in attendance. It was a hit, though, and four short months later, the show was back - this time, as a regular part of the UPN lineup. For years after that, SmackDown! was taped every Tuesday and aired every Thursday. It changed forms over the years, but like Raw, it still airs weekly today.
Still, what did it ultimately mean for the WWF? In the beginning of 1998, WCW unveiled Thunder, the company's second weekly primetime show, and secretly, WWF's staff rejoiced - after all, with all of the programming that WCW was putting out, they'd overexpose themselves in no time. While WCW did indeed soon fall, though, WWF was forced to follow their example and amp up to two shows a week. WWF's boom period would only last a couple more years, and there's an argument to be made that overexposure hurt them, too.