By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE issued the following press release to promote the 1,000th edition of Smackdown on October 16.
The historic 1,000th episode of WWE® SmackDown Live will take place from the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC on Tuesday, October 16, 2018, and air live on USA Network at 8/7C. Tickets are available starting this Friday, August 17 at 10 am ET at the Capital One Arena box office, via www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
“1,000 episodes is a tremendous milestone reinforcing the longevity and popularity of WWE,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & CEO. “But it’s only the beginning, and the best is yet to come for SmackDown.”
On air since 1999, SmackDown Live is the second-longest running weekly episodic cable television show in U.S. primetime history, only behind Monday Night Raw. SmackDown Live is currently among the most-watched, regularly scheduled programs on primetime cable and delivers more viewers in primetime than any cable network in the U.S. (2.9 million average viewers). SmackDown Live has aired more original episodes than some of the most popular television series of all time, including The Simpsons, Gunsmoke, Lassie and Monday Night Football.
SmackDown Live has also helped launch the careers of pop-culture icons including Dwayne “The Rock®” Johnson, John Cena®, Undertaker®, Triple H®, “Stone Cold®” Steve Austin and The Bella Twins™.
Powell’s POV: The best is certainly yet to come for Smackdown, as the show will move to Fox in October 2019.
I’m pretty sure The Rock launched the career of Smackdown and not the other way around since Smackdown was originally created to get an Austin show and a Rock show but Vinnie can rewrite history. lol
I love how Vince has put The Bella Twins in the same category as The Rock and Austin, only in WWE hey?