Ahead of tonight’s premiere episode of WWE SmackDown, live on the USA Network, Fightful Select has provided some backstage news. The publication also includes backstage details on Raw and NXT, as those shows will have new television homes soon.
-SmackDown on the USA network, WWE will have more flexibility for overruns, while NXT on The CW reportedly will have less, with overruns possibly going away.
-It is expected that SmackDown will have a new theme song from a “legit artist.”
-SmackDown will remain two-hours despite rumors of it going to three-hours upon moving to the USA Network. There had been rumors that tonight’s premiere episode on USA would be a three-hour special. However, it is listed as running two-hours.
-WWE wants to make a huge first impression when they debut on The CW October 1, with the keeping an upward trend in viewership on the linear network.
-The WWE Performance Center is still expected to be the regular location for weekly NXT television going forward, following their initial debut episodes in Chicago and St. Louis.
-Raw will not be commercial free when it premieres on Netflix this January. In addition, the show will return to its normal three-hours, despite being cut to two-hours for the remainder of its run on the USA Network through December of this year.
*Live coverage of tonight’s WWE SmackDown will begin at 8:00 pm ET*