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 The first week of October will bring many changes to WWE programming on mainstream TV and the WWE network. The new home of SmackDown
will be FOX starting on 10/4. The show was set up by specials that ran on 9/27
and 9/29. The show will get a half-hour "blue carpet" kickoff show that will
show the arrival of WWE talent and mainstream sports stars and celebrities from
the FOX network. The main event of the show will be labeled the SmackDown 20th
anniversary celebration with the main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston
for the WWE Championship. Raw remains on USA and the season premiere will debut
the new announce team of Vic Joseph, Jerry "The King" Lawler and Dio Maddin.
Maddin is former NFL offensive lineman Brennan Williams who made his debut on
the 205 Live commentary team earlier this month. The new SmackDown broadcast
team will be Michael Cole with Corey Graves. Renee Young will be a "special
contributor" on SmackDown. The NXT announce team of Mauro Ranallo, Nigel
McGuinness, and Beth Phoenix will remain the same. The first 2-hour NXT show
will have limited commercial interruptions. The new TV deal will add a new show
called WWE Backstage that will debut on FS1 starting on 11/5. The show will have
a rotating cast of guests and personalities along with the hosts. The WWE Draft
will lay out the focus on all the brands on 10/11 and 10/14. Seen on both shows
will be talent from NBC/Universal shows and FOX. And unlike the last draft
talent will be confined to just one show since they will look and be booked
differently. SmackDown is expected to be more sports orientated with little or
no humor and very few backstage bits. Along with the major network changes 205
Live will now take place on Wednesdays and is under the control of the NXT
booking team. NXT UK will now run on Thursdays on WWE Network.
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