Friday Night SmackDown

Friday Night SmackDown is the late-weekday installment of the wildly popular WWE SmackDown series that premiered back in 1999. The event regularly brings together some of the sport's biggest names and largest egos, showcasing them for the entire world to see in a prime-time venue that often garners tens of millions of fans. The brand is the brainchild of Vince McMahon, the 66-year-old patriarch of the sporting entertainment empire.

In recent years, Friday Night SmackDown has become the new identity of the franchise, offering up action to the general public that is commonly reserved for pay-per-view viewers. The event moved to Friday nights back in 2006, and has since thrived in a time slot that is universally believed to be a kiss of death for any television show. Instead of fizzling out and being cancelled after a few months, Friday Night SmackDown quickly grew into a weekly event that millions of fans not only looked forward to, but structured their Friday evening around. Over the years, the WWE has used the large stage to introduce the careers of several young stars and develop the careers and plot lines of many other characters.

The location for the popular event weaves throughout North America over the course of the year, offering fans in all corner of the nation to get a first-hand view of the favorite wrestlers. Every so often, a SmackDown show involves a theme, such as the 'Blast from the Past' show in April of this year. The show reunited stars from the past decades and allowed them to be celebrated in front of the thousands of adoring and passionate fans one last night.

Modern day Friday Night SmackDown regulars include The Undertaker, Sting and John Cena, just to name a few. A recent live show staged in late June featured the incredibly muscle-bound Ryback taking on two men at once in a match that was clearly an homage to the early days of the sport. In many ways, Friday Night SmackDown is a throwback to the golden late Saturday night WWF shows of the 1980s, complete with over-exaggerated ring entrances and flamboyant clothing.

Based on its Friday night success, the SmackDown franchise will be around for as long as McMahon wishes to showcase his sport in the public eye. As of press time, the total number of SmackDown shows is quickly approaching 700.