According to F4WOnline, there will be no live episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown on FOX on New Year’s Eve. There will instead be a year in review episode of SmackDown that will air on FS1 that night.
It is being said that the reason SmackDown is being moved to FS1 on that night is due to FOX airing New Year’s Eve programming, so WWE decided not to have a regular new episode. Reportedly this decision was made by Nick Khan, Vince McMahon, and Kevin Dunn.
It was further noted WWE’s original plans called for a live episode of Friday Night SmackDown to take place at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina on New Year’s Eve. However that show was removed from WWE’s schedule.
The Christmas Eve episode of SmackDown will air on FOX, but will be taped in advance at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on Friday, December 17, after the live episode from the arena goes off the air.
WWE’s Day 1 pay-per-view will be held on January 1, 2022, and will air live from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.