WWE News: Smackdown Episode 1000 Will Take Place on Oct. 16, Vince McMahon Comments
World Wrestling Entertainment sent out a press release today with info on the 1,000th episode of Smackdown special that will air in October including comments from WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon:
STAMFORD, Conn. – The historic 1,000th episode of WWE SmackDown LIVE will take place from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, and air live on USA Network at 8/7 C. Tickets will be available starting this Friday, Aug. 17, at 10 a.m. ET at the Capital One Arena box office, via Ticketmaster.com, or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
“One thousand 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 the 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, The Undertaker, Triple H, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Bella Twins.
The episode will likely be two hours long because there’s no indication it will be a special three-hour episode, but that’s a possibility since it’s a special occasion.
It’s not yet known if there will be special guest stars, but I think it would make a lot of sense for some of the bigger Smackdown names in history like The Undertaker and Edge to be there. Perhaps The Rock will show up since the show is named after his “Laying the Smackdown” catchphrase, but it’s been a long time since he’s been on WWE programming, so it is anyone’s guess at this point.