For the WHEI brand, see SmackDown (WHEI Brand)
WHEI SmackDown also known as SmackDown Live, Friday Night SmackDown Live or simply SmackDown, is a professional wrestling television program that currently airs on Friday evenings at 8 PM PT on Twitch TV in the United States. The show's name is also used to refer to the SmackDown Brand, to which WHEI employees are assigned to work and perform. The show debuted on December 26, 2015, and has since been considered one of the 3 flagship programs of WHEI.
While the show is recorded live on Twitch, a replay is also uploaded to YouTube afterward so people who didn't get to see the live broadcast can watch it. All episodes of the show are available on YouTube to watch for fans.
Since its first episode, SmackDown has been broadcast live in several different arenas in many countries all around the world. As it hasn't been going as long as its real life counterpart, it hasn't been in nearly as many as it has.
The length of the show depends on the length of the matches booked for the show, as there are rarely non-wrestling segments in the show to fill in the gaps to make it 2 hours. However more often than not it will at least come close to that mark, even when some matches only last a few seconds at best.
History[]
Beginning as WHEI's Friday Night SmackDown the program first aired on December 26, 2015 on Twitch TV. The first episode was a little over an hour long and would remain in this format for the entirety of its run. The show broke ground as at the time WWE's SmackDown was taped on Tuesdays and aired on Thursdays, while all of WHEI's shows were aired live. WWE would follow suit with SmackDown in 2016, with the show going live every Tuesday.
Following the reintroduction of the real life brand split in 2016 (WHEI had been doing a brand split since its inception) the show changed its name to WHEI SmackDown Live. However unlike the real life SmackDown the show kept its Friday time slot in order to provide a day between shows for the fans to rest and let the War Hawks stream something else on their off days.
Along with the new name came a new set, featuring blue ring ropes and a general blue theme throughout, with LED boards on the ring apron and ringposts. They also debuted a new logo for the show to keep with the "New Era" feel of the show.
The Women's Championship has main evented the show quite a few times, as Ironman, who serves as the general manager of the brand, felt like it would be nice to put an emphasis on women's wrestling for their company while WWE was just starting to do so for their women.
Production[]
The original SmackDown set featured white ring ropes, a black ring skirt and a white apron for the ring. As well as LED boards on the left side of the ring and on the ringposts.
In Season 2 following the real life reintroduction of the brand split the set was tweaked a bit. The ring ropes were now blue, and a new HD set and graphics were debuted. It also features the absence of a traditional titantron, with a curved LED banner and rows of rectangular LED lights in its place. There are also LED panels on the floor leading to the ring on the entrance ramp.
Throughout the month of October, due to WWE's partnership with Susan G Komen for the cure for breast cancer, the announce table, entrance ramp, and ring skirts were co-branded with the pink ribbon. The middle rope is also pink to help support the fight against breast cancer.
Theme music[]
| Song Title | Written and/or performed by | Date Used |
|---|---|---|
| "Black & Blue" | CFO$ | December 26, 2015 - May 27, 2017 |
| "Take A Chance" | CFO$ | May 31, 2017 - Present |
On-air personalities[]
The show features various on-air personalities including the wrestlers themselves (both males and females), ring announcers, commentators, and on-screen authority figures. SmackDown has also had various recurring on-air segments hosted by members of the roster.
Broadcast[]
In the US, the show airs live on Twitch TV, it is then uploaded to YouTube almost immediately afterward so that anyone who couldn't watch the live broadcast can watch.