Tonight there will be another entry in the Friday Night Wars between AEW and WWE. Due to Game 3 of the World Series airing tonight on FOX, WWE SmackDown has been bumped to FS1. The 2-hour show will begin live at its regular time at 8 PM ET, but the promotion announced, that there will be two encore presentations with the first one beginning at 10 PM ET, and the second beginning at midnight.
Originally, WWE was going to air an hour-long episode of Talking Smack at 10 PM ET but plans changed to the double encore presentations. The first encore airing will go head-to-head with TNT’s airing of AEW Rampage, which also begins at 10 PM ET. This will be the second time this month that both programs have aired head-to-head. During their first matchup, WWE decided to add 30-minutes to SmackDown to compete directly with Rampage; however, AEW won the battle for the key 18-49 demographics, which was confirmed on Twitter by longtime Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online journalist Bryan Alvarez.
Tonight’s SmackDown will follow up from last week’s show that featured Brock Lesnar getting suspended indefinitely after hunting for Universal Champion Roman Reigns following their match at WWE Crown Jewel. Tension is brewing between 3 of the Four Horsewomen in the SmackDown Women’s Title picture as Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks are the talk of the WWE Universe. Tonight, fans will find out what is in store for King Woods after last week’s coronation, and much more.
Rampage is expected to be an explosive show that will feature a huge matchup between Bryan Danielson and Eddie Kingston in the World Title Eliminator Semifinals. AEW Women’s Champion Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. will be in action in a Trick or Treat match, and CM Punk speaks with Tony Schiavone.
Wrestling fans will be treated to a stacked night of action inside the squared circle heading into Halloween weekend.