81-512: The DCU Center (originally Centrum in Worcester , formerly Worcester's Centrum Centre and commonly Worcester Centrum ) is an indoor arena and convention center complex in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts . The facility hosts a variety of events, including concerts, sporting events, family shows, conventions, trade-shows and meetings. It is owned by the City of Worcester and managed by ASM Global ,
162-686: A Built Ford Tough Series bull riding event at the arena every year from the event's inception in 1998. The Built Ford Tough Series was known as the Bud Light Cup until the 2002 season. On January 29–30, 2011, the Massachusetts International 28th Auto Show was held at the arena. On June 11, 2014, Worcester Technical High School held their graduation at the DCU Center, notable for the commencement address by President Barack Obama . On November 18, 2015, future President Donald Trump held
243-704: A virtual audience and enhanced arena production. WWE returned to hosting and touring shows for both the SmackDown and Raw brands in June 2021. Since the move to Fox, SmackDown has occasionally been pre-empted to FS1 due to conflicts with other Fox Sports programming airing in primetime, particularly the Major League Baseball postseason. In one instance in October 2019 due to the World Series , an hour-long version of
324-539: A virtual audience displayed on a grandstand constructed from video boards. With the return to live shows in July 2021, a new universal stage was adopted by both SmackDown and Raw , with a high-resolution LED screen, and increasing use of augmented reality graphics for the television production. Notes On July 10, 2007, Merriam-Webster included the word smackdown in Webster's Dictionary . Merriam Webster defined
405-732: A "pre-game" show. The move saw Syfy paying close to $ 30 million for the show as opposed to the $ 20 million paid by its former network MyNetworkTV. During the August 29, 2011 episode of Raw , WWE dissolved the brand extension, thus allowing performers to appear on Raw and SmackDown at any given time without restriction. The October 14, 2011, episode made SmackDown the second-longest-running weekly episodic television series of American television history (behind Raw , which surpassed that mark on August 1, 2005). On January 18, 2013, SmackDown celebrated its 700th episode. On October 10, 2014, SmackDown celebrated its 15-year anniversary. To help celebrate
486-571: A "smackdown" as: The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the word smackdown in English back at least as far as 1990, but notes that a professional wrestling television show "popularized" the term. Throughout its broadcast history, the show has aired editions that have different themes. These include tributes to various professional wrestlers who have recently died or retired from actively performing, and episodes commemorating various show milestones or anniversaries. Although SmackDown has been
567-1163: A 58-minute version of "Runaway Jim". The concert performed nearly a year later, on November 27, 1998, was later released as a live album, entitled Live Phish Volume 6 . On December 27–28, 2010, they returned for a pair of concerts, the group's 11th and 12th appearances at the venue and its first public performances there in over seven years, performing one of the most well received renditions of " Harry Hood " since reuniting in 2009. They would return for two more concerts on June 7–8, 2012, notable for being that Summer tour's opening concerts. Phish would again return amidst their acclaimed Fall 2013 tour for two concerts on October 25–26, 2013. The arena played host to The Up in Smoke Tour on July 20–21, 2000. The show featured many famous rappers and hip hop artists, including Ice Cube , Eminem , Proof , Snoop Dogg , Dr. Dre , Nate Dogg , Kurupt , D12 , MC Ren , Westside Connection , Mel-Man , Tha Eastsidaz , Doggy's Angels , Devin The Dude , Warren G , TQ , Truth Hurts , Xzibit and The D.O.C . The July 20 show
648-590: A WWE-oriented studio show ( WWE Backstage ) on FS1. From March 13, 2020, all WWE touring shows were cancelled indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic , with SmackDown , Raw , and pay-per-views being broadcast from a studio in the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida with no audience beginning that night. The ensuing episode also featured Triple H as a guest commentator, and an encore presentation of
729-841: A few hours earlier in Ireland and the United Kingdom than in the United States (and a day earlier in Australia, Canada, Singapore, and the Philippines) due to time differences. For international broadcast listings, see below . The show celebrated its 15th anniversary on October 10, 2014, and the 1000th episode on October 16, 2018. The WWE Network ceased operations in the United States on April 4, 2021, with all content moved to Peacock which now has all previous episodes of SmackDown . Recent episodes are still available for on-demand viewing 30 days after
810-531: A good-natured ad parody on rock radio station WBCN , "Now appearing at the Centrum, Boston on Ice!", a reference to themed ice shows . The arena played host to what some fans consider to be the greatest two-night stand in the history of The Dave Matthews Band , in December 1998. Fresh off their May release of Before These Crowded Streets , they played some of the more diverse concerts in their history. Bela Fleck and
891-666: A house show that would end up being the final show held under the WWF name, with the company changing its name to the WWE one day later. On July 12, 2005, it was the host of the July 14, 2005 taping of SmackDown! . On November 2, 2009, it was the host of WWE Raw for the first time in nine years. On January 14, 2014, it was the host of the January 17 taping of SmackDown! . It was the host of WWE SmackDown when it went live on July 19, 2016, an episode featuring WWE's second ever brand extension draft . For
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#1732848499306972-451: A live 800th episode special on Syfy's sister channel USA Network , SuperSmackDown Live! , featuring a main event between Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins . In January 2015, SmackDown returned to a Thursday time slot. The return to Thursday nights was expected to help attract a younger audience to Syfy, as well as more premium advertising dollars from marketers, who tend to spend more to promote their products, especially film releases, on
1053-416: A manner reminiscent of athletic conferences ). In the 2004–05 season, SmackDown! had an average viewership of 5.1 million viewers, making it UPN's second-highest-rated series behind America's Next Top Model . With the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise , SmackDown! moved into its former timeslot on Friday nights for the 2005–06 season, beginning September 9, 2005. WWE subsequently announced that
1134-519: A multitude of spectators. The word derives from Latin harena , a particularly fine-grained sand that covered the floor of ancient arenas such as the Colosseum in Rome , Italy, to absorb blood. The term arena is sometimes used as a synonym for a very large venue such as Pasadena's Rose Bowl , but such a facility is typically called a stadium . The use of one term over the other has mostly to do with
1215-495: A private management firm for public assembly facilities. Ten-year naming rights were purchased in 2004 by Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) and went into effect January 2005. DCU's naming rights were later extended to 2027. The Centrum, or officially Centrum in Worcester as it was then known, opened in September 1982 after years of construction delays, with a capacity of roughly 12,000. The first performance on September 1, 1982,
1296-407: A rally at the DCU Center for a campaign stop. Secret Service agents screened attendees before the event. A crowd of over 10,000 was in attendance. On August 23–25, 2019, a Super Smash Bros. tournament titled Shine 2019 was held at the DCU Center. Over 1,600 competitors attended the tournament and the livestream had over 30,000 concurrent viewers on the final day. The facility expanded in 1997 with
1377-421: A small LED board to the left side of the ring on SmackDown , similar to Raw . On the September 14, 2015 season premiere of Raw , the middle rope was colored gold. Throughout the month of October 2015, the WWE broadcast table, entrance ramp, and ring skirts were co-branded with Susan G. Komen for the cure of breast cancer. Also, the middle ring rope was pink to promote the fight against breast cancer. Following
1458-416: A special pink middle-rope in the ring. SmackDown ' s ring ropes were usually blue from 1999 to 2012 (although they were black for a period between 2001 and 2002). They remained blue until December 2012 when they were permanently changed to white, with all WWE programming now using white ring ropes. On August 22, 2014, SmackDown switched to a full 16:9 letterbox presentation, with a down-scaled version of
1539-936: A wrestling match. The primary commentators for SmackDown are Michael Cole and Corey Graves . Additional commentary has been provided by Taz , Jim Ross , Josh Mathews , Mauro Ranallo , Tom Phillips and others since its creation. In addition to the Spanish-language Fox Deportes simulcasting with Fox live in the United States and broadcasts to American troops deployed overseas on AFN Sports 2 , SmackDown also appears on-air internationally. SmackDown airs live on Fox Sports in Mexico and across Central and South America since 2014. In Canada, SmackDown has historically been aired by Sportsnet 360 (SN360, formerly known as The Score), as part of network owner Rogers Media 's long-term deal with WWE. The program has historically aired sometimes in simulcast with
1620-421: Is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre , musical performances , and/or sporting events . It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may be covered by a roof. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing maximum visibility. Arenas are usually designed to accommodate
1701-442: Is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE . It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network . SmackDown is the most viewed television show on Friday nights in the United States of America. Fox Deportes simulcasts the program with Spanish-language commentary. The show features characters from the SmackDown brand , to which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform. It
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#17328484993061782-726: Is considered to be one of WWE's two flagship programs, along with Monday Night Raw . SmackDown! debuted in Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri UPN on April 29, 1999, and was formerly broadcast on Thursday nights. The show moved to Friday nights on September 9, 2005, and began airing on The CW in September 2006, after the merger of UPN and the WB . The show later moved to MyNetworkTV in October 2008. On October 1, 2010, SmackDown moved to cable network Syfy , and eventually returned to Thursdays on January 15, 2015. The show then moved to
1863-567: The 20th Anniversary special. The episode also marked the return of SmackDown to Friday nights and the return of WWE programming to Fox for the first time since Fox aired the November 14, 1992 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event . The agreement came as WWE's previous broadcast deal with USA Network to air both SmackDown and WWE Raw was set to expire, and as Fox has increasingly emphasized live sports programming and non-scripted entertainment in
1944-588: The Boston Celtics to see the Grateful Dead at the Centrum. The venue has hosted 16 concerts of the band Phish . On December 31, 1993, they played their first concert at the Centrum, complete with a stage decorated like an aquarium (featured for the 1993 New Years run). Footage from this show was featured in the band's only official music video, " Down with Disease ", whose jam debuted that night. On November 29, 1997, Phish played their longest song in band history,
2025-772: The Continental Indoor Football League also called the Center home for two seasons, but ceased operations after the 2008 season. In 2018, the Massachusetts Pirates began their inaugural season in the National Arena League , going 11-5 and regular season champions in their first year. They joined the Indoor Football League in 2021, and went on to win that year's United Bowl . In 2023, the Massachusetts Pirates , announced they would be departing
2106-600: The Elimination Chamber match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship from the titular pay-per-view the previous Sunday. On August 17, WWE announced that SmackDown , Raw , and pay-per-views would move out of the Performance Center to the " WWE ThunderDome " at Orlando's Amway Center , beginning with SmackDown on August 21. The program continued to be broadcast behind closed doors, but with
2187-406: The brand extension and split between Raw and SmackDown , it was announced that SmackDown would move to Tuesday nights and be broadcast live. On the July 11, 2016 episode of Raw , Vince McMahon named Shane McMahon the commissioner of SmackDown. Then next week on Raw , Daniel Bryan was revealed as the new SmackDown General Manager. On July 22, 2016, general manager Daniel Bryan revealed
2268-423: The 15th anniversary, Stephanie McMahon came out first, then Laurinaitis and Long, respectively, the latter of which kept one-upping each other for the main event of the night until McMahon decided to keep the 15-man tag team match that Long suggested, on the condition Laurinaitis and Long be the captains of each team like at WrestleMania XXVIII . Long's team won the match. On December 16, 2014, SmackDown aired
2349-651: The Civic Center KISS date, which petered out at 2,000 sales. Russo canceled the Providence show and publicly offered to trade Centrum KISS show tickets for Civic Center KISS show tickets in lieu of refunds, throwing in a free bus ride up and back. On January 22, 1983, hundreds of fans departed from Sabin Street in front of the Providence Civic Center, headed up on chartered buses to the competing venue (after this, for
2430-674: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The College of the Holy Cross uses the facility as an alternate location for anticipated larger attendance home games for men's basketball and men's ice hockey. During the 1980s, the arena became an alternate stop for touring musical acts, offering them a small venue that could draw from both the Boston and Providence concert markets simultaneously. The old Boston Garden had poor acoustics and lacked air conditioning, prompting promoters to schedule Boston area shows at
2511-518: The Day. As of August 3, 2012, the show has used the modified WWE HD universal set, which debuted at Raw 1000 on July 23. From September 21, 2012, until October 26, 2012, October 4, 2013, until November 1, 2013, October 3 and 31, 2014, and October 2 and 30, 2015, WWE worked in conjunction with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to raise awareness for breast cancer by adorning the SmackDown set with pink ribbons and
DCU Center - Misplaced Pages Continue
2592-461: The Flecktones joined DMB for these shows opening both nights and even sitting in on much of sets for both nights. The Grateful Dead played the Centrum 12 times between 1983 and 1988. Dates they played included 10/20/83, 10/21/83, 10/8/84, 10/9/84, 11/4/85, 11/5/85, 4/2/87, 4/3/87, 4/4/87, 4/7/88, 4/8/88, and 4/9/88. 4/3/87 is the most listened-to Grateful Dead tape on Archive.org. Bill Walton took
2673-527: The Ovaltron either to the left or to the right of the stage. In August 2001, as part of celebrating SmackDown! ' s second anniversary, the show received a new logo and set, which consisted of a fist centered above the entrance with the WWF/E scratch logo above it, and many glass panes along the sides strongly resembling shattered glass with two TitanTrons on each side. From September 23, 2004, to September 26, 2008,
2754-591: The Ring ( Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah , Saudi Arabia ), and August 31 for Bash in Berlin ( Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany ). On September 21, 2023, it was announced that SmackDown would return to USA Network in October 2024, following the expiration of WWE's contract with Fox. The agreement with NBCUniversal was reported to be valued at $ 1.4 billion over five years, an increase over
2835-633: The Sky , Stretch Arm Strong , Kill Your Idols and Nashville Pussy . It also featured 42 tattoo artists from Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Malaysia, Manitoba, Spain, Switzerland and the US. On October 29, 2016, Parachute Concerts and area based Veteran Independent Promoter Ed Atamian brought the nostalgic Rap R&B throwback 'I Love The 90's Tour' to the arena. Featuring Salt N Pepa ft. DJ Spinderella, Vanilla Ice, Coolio, Young MC, Color Me Badd, All 4 One. The show sold thousands of tickets. Its success hearkens back to
2916-496: The U.S. airing and sometimes a day before. In 2005, when the taped show moved to Friday airings in the U.S., it remained on Thursdays in Canada for a period of time. During its return to Thursdays in the U.S. from January 2015 to July 2016, pre-recorded episodes of SmackDown aired on Wednesdays—one night earlier—due to conflicts with the channel's Thursday-night National Hockey League broadcasts. The program has aired in simulcast with
2997-478: The U.S. broadcast since it switched to a live format in July 2016, initially on Tuesdays and then moving back to Fridays in October 2019. Despite the move to Fox (which is widely carried on Canadian television providers), Rogers had not elected to simulcast SmackDown on its broadcast network Citytv to invoke potential simsub rights. As Rogers holds the rights to the National Hockey League broadcasts ,
3078-420: The arena was expected to last three to four summers. Some of the major improvements were a new electrical system, new ice chillers, and a completely new ice floor all of which are original to the arena which opened in 1982. Other improvements to the arena during phase 1 will include a new dasher board system and a new seamless glass system, which are often found in new arenas. During the summer of 2012, phase 2 of
3159-543: The arena. On May 17, 1998, it was the host of WCW 's WCW Slamboree . Additionally, on April 27, 2003, WWE Backlash came to the DCU Center. In additional several WWE events have taken place at the DCU Center. On December 28, 1998, Mick Foley , performing under the name Mankind, won his first WWE Championship during the taping of the January 4, 1999 edition of Monday Night Raw at the Worcester Centrum Centre, defeating The Rock . On May 5, 2002, it hosted
3240-469: The arena. This practice continues today as the arena is an alternative to the larger TD Garden . The impact was also felt immediately thirty-five miles south at the Providence Civic Center. Within six months of The Centrum's opening, Providence's WPRI Channel 12 news ran a two-part story by reporter Brian Rooney citing a situation the week prior with the KISS band as a prime example of how the newly built Centrum
3321-465: The brand split in 2016, the ropes return to its original blue color as well as debuting a new set. The post brand extension set was almost identical to the TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs set from 2009 to 2013 and caused some negative feedback among online fans for re-using an old stage design. A month after the new set debut, a more distinctive and elaborate stage was created for SmackDown. The stage used
DCU Center - Misplaced Pages Continue
3402-717: The episode aired on Fox the following Sunday afternoon. In conjunction with the 2023 Money in the Bank event, which was held at The O2 Arena in London, England , on July 1, the June 30, 2023, episode of SmackDown was held at the same venue, and broadcast live on BT Sport in local primetime hours for the first time. In 2024, the program aired episodes from other countries for the first time in conjunction with other WWE PPV's, including May 3 for Backlash France ( LDLC Arena in Décines-Charpieu, Lyon, France ), May 24 for King and Queen of
3483-457: The facility is called Cameron Indoor Stadium . Domed stadiums, which, like arenas, are enclosed but have the larger playing surfaces and seating capacities found in stadiums, are generally not referred to as arenas in North America. There is also the sport of indoor American football (one variant of which is explicitly known as arena football), a variant of the outdoor game that is designed for
3564-562: The facility's name change to Worcester's Centrum Centre. The venue received further updates with the DCU naming rights purchase, including new signage both inside and outside the facility, and a new center-hung video scoreboard for the arena bowl. In the summer of 2023, all arena seats were replaced. The arena is home to the Worcester Railers which began play in 2017 as a member of the ECHL . The arena
3645-533: The facility, the Hilton Garden, opened in October 2006, doubling the number of rooms previously available in the facility's other headquarters hotel, the former Crowne Plaza that closed in 2009. It was announced on June 3, 2009, that the DCU Center would undergo a series of major renovations. There were to be three or four phases to the renovations, scheduled to avoid the Worcester Sharks AHL season. Work on
3726-491: The final three episodes of SmackDown to FS1 to accommodate the premiere of Fox College Football in its former time slot. On May 9, 2024, USA Network announced that SmackDown would return to the channel on September 13, 2024, retaining its Friday-night timeslot. Starting in 2025, SmackDown will be exclusive on Netflix outside of the United States which includes Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. WWE taped SmackDown on Tuesday evenings to air on Thursday evenings on UPN
3807-465: The first time Total Nonstop Action Wrestling debuted at the DCU Center on January 20, 2012. On February 11, 1983, Marvelous Marvin Hagler retained his WBC , WBA and The Ring Middleweight titles against English boxer Tony Sibson at the arena. It was Hagler's 60th professional fight and his 56th win overall. The fight was the only time Hagler fought at the arena and was the last of 36 he fought in
3888-592: The highest-scoring AHL All Star game in history. Worcester has been host to Boston Celtics preseason games in some years. They also hosted the first and second rounds of the 1992 and 2005 NCAA men's Division I basketball tournaments. The arena has been home to multiple indoor football teams. The Massachusetts Marauders of the Arena Football League played in the arena in the 1994 season, but folded after one year in Massachusetts. The New England Surge of
3969-442: The native HD feed on a 4:3 SD feed. Although the graphics were re-positioned, SmackDown continued to use a variation of the graphics package that had been in use since its first HD broadcast in January 2008, until the show moved to Thursday nights on January 15, 2015, when an all-new graphics package (now optimized for the 16:9 format) and intro video were introduced along with a revised SmackDown logo. On March 26, 2015, WWE added
4050-446: The new SmackDown logo on his official Twitter page, renaming the show SmackDown Live . On April 10, 2018, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that Daniel Bryan was back as a full-time WWE wrestler and named Paige the new general manager. On June 26, 2018, Fox announced a five-year agreement to air SmackDown , in a deal worth $ 205 million per year. SmackDown would debut on October 4, 2019, with its first episode being
4131-415: The next four tours in a row, only the Centrum got area bookings from KISS; they did not attempt to play the Providence Civic Center again until 1988). On January 27, 1988, KISS paused in the middle of their Crazy Nights tour concert at the arena and filmed most of the footage for a music video supporting their impending "Turn On The Night" single. The video was directed by Marty Callner who laid tracks inside
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#17328484993064212-417: The night as consumers head into the weekend. The last SmackDown airing on a Friday night had 2.43 million viewers with a 0.7 share. On January 7, 2016, SmackDown moved to USA Network, remaining on Thursday nights. With the move, all top three WWE programs— Raw , SmackDown and Tough Enough —would air on the same network for the first time ever. On May 25, 2016, as part of the re-implementation of
4293-563: The opening of an attached convention center that features panoramic views of downtown Worcester. The complex added 50,000 square feet (4,600 m) of exhibit space, 11 meeting rooms, a 12,144-square-foot (1,128.2 m) ballroom (the largest in Central Massachusetts) and a kitchen. The facility's 100,000-plus square feet of exhibit space is filled by consumer shows, trade shows, conventions, conferences, and other public and private functions year-round. An additional headquarters hotel for
4374-514: The original SmackDown stage. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , all WWE programs suspended touring shows from mid-March 2020 through mid-July 2021. All SmackDown broadcasts were filmed behind closed doors with no in-person spectators, initially from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, before returning to an arena setting with a closed set known as the " ThunderDome "—which featured a larger-scale production more in line with its PPV shows, but with
4455-461: The original air date. WWF SmackDown! was set up to compete against World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s Thursday night show, Thunder . SmackDown! first appeared on April 29, 1999, using the Raw set as a single television special on UPN . On August 26, 1999, SmackDown! officially debuted on UPN. Like Thunder , SmackDown! was recorded on Tuesdays and then broadcast on Thursdays. The new WWF show
4536-537: The previous agreement. As part of the agreement, WWE would also produce four primetime specials for NBC per-year. With it later being later reported in September 2024 that the specials would be wrestling shows under the Saturday Night's Main Event branding marking the first such shows since 2008. The original date of SmackDown 's return to USA Network was October 4, 2024, the fifth anniversary of its premiere on Fox, however, Fox had originally planned to move
4617-565: The program is occasionally pre-empted to OLN during the Stanley Cup playoffs. All archived broadcasts of SmackDown are available on the WWE Network . Rogers Media secured the rights to Canadian WWE programming until 2024, after which in January 2025 the rights go to Netflix , but will not air on the Canadian iteration of USA Network , which will relaunch on the former Discovery Channel space at
4698-424: The recession. Worcester Centrum Director Antonio Tavares told Rooney, in a shot at his competition down south, "You can no longer sit and wait for the phone to ring and expect acts to be calling you, especially unique types of events, and say 'Hey, we're interested in playing the Providence Civic Center'. That doesn't happen anymore." Rooney showed footage of a tennis match, a tractor pull, and KISS playing to underline
4779-469: The renovations began. These included a new glass wall on the Foster Street side of the building; major improvements to heating, ventilation and cooling systems; upgrades to restrooms and concessions; and a new dehumidification system. In 2018/2019, a plan of $ 37 million renovations were announced for the next four years. In the summer of 2023, the facility replaced all arena seats. Arena An arena
4860-529: The same time. SmackDown airs live in the MENA region on Shahid Saturday mornings, and later on the same day, a one-hour version airs on MBC Action at 8PM Egypt Standard Time . SmackDown airs live in Australia on Saturday late mornings/early afternoons and Sunday afternoons on Fox8 and Friday nights on 9Go! as a one-hour version, and airs live in New Zealand on Sky 5 and Sunday nights on Sky Open as
4941-489: The same week. However, SmackDown had aired occasional live specials on Tuesday nights (which are then replayed in its usual Thursday night timeslot). The show began broadcasting in HD beginning with the January 25, 2008 episode of SmackDown , where a new set (which became universal for all WWE weekly programming) debuted. Following the first broadcast in HD, the exclamation mark used since
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#17328484993065022-400: The season premiere of SmackDown on MyNetworkTV was the highest-rated program in that night on the network, with 3.2 million viewers. On March 20, 2009, SmackDown celebrated its 500th episode. On October 1, 2010, as part of a new broadcast deal with NBC Universal , SmackDown moved to Syfy , retaining its Friday night timeslot. Prior to this premiere of SmackDown , Michael Cole hosted
5103-573: The second-largest show in the WWE, the company's use of the term went beyond its namesake program. During the 2000 U.S. election campaign, the WWE launched the SmackDown! Your Vote program. The name was also used when WWE released its 2015 film The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown! and WWE Network 's show Kitchen SmackDown! . The wrestlers featured on WWE take part in scripted feuds and storylines . Wrestlers are portrayed as heroes , villains , or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in
5184-408: The secondary theme, then a swap was made, as "Born 2 Run" was used as a secondary theme, when "This Life" is used as SmackDown's main theme. Prior to November 2, 2012, SmackDown opened with " Know Your Enemy " by Green Day while "Hangman" by Rev Theory served as the secondary theme song. Upon SmackDown ' s debut on Syfy in 2010, it replaced the previous theme song "Let it Roll" by Divide
5265-496: The security barrier in front of the stage for a moving camera to film up at lead singer Paul Stanley dancing up a stage ramp while lip-synching the lyrics and featured a dolly shot running down the center aisle showing the crowd. "Turn On the Night" only charted in the UK, where it reached #41. Rooney reported the new Centrum was "thriving", and already "doing double the business expected" despite
5346-410: The show would be renamed Friday Night SmackDown! to emphasize the new scheduling. In January 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment announced that UPN and The WB would merge to form a new network known as The CW that fall. As part of the announcement, The CW announced that it would renew Friday Night SmackDown! for two more seasons as part of its launch schedule—which drew from
5427-451: The show's inception disappeared from all references pertaining to "SmackDown", including the official logo, which resembles the 2001–2008 logo, but with a darker blue scheme. The early set included an oval-shaped TitanTron entrance and stage (dubbed the "Ovaltron") which made it stand out from the Raw Is War set with its rectangular Titantrons. Later productions gained the ability to move
5508-732: The sibling USA Network on January 7, 2016, and later that year, beginning on July 19, SmackDown began broadcasting live on Tuesday nights. SmackDown ' s move to Fox on October 4, 2019 marked the show's return to Friday nights and over-the-air broadcast television (as well as the second time SmackDown has aired on a Fox-owned network). On September 13, 2024, the show returned to USA Network. SmackDown has been broadcast from over 100+ arenas, 100+ cities and towns, and nine countries: United States , Canada , United Kingdom , Japan in 2005, Italy in 2007, Mexico in 2011, and France , Saudi Arabia , and Germany in 2024. Prior to switching to its current live format, taped episodes premiered
5589-497: The strongest programs of its two predecessors. On September 22, 2006, Friday Night SmackDown! aired its first ever episode on The CW. The CW declined to renew SmackDown , resulting in the series being picked up in October 2008 by MyNetworkTV , a second new network that had been formed by Fox Entertainment Group to take on former UPN and WB affiliates who were not selected to join The CW. Retaining its previous Friday-night time slot,
5670-503: The theme song for SmackDown! was "Rise Up" by Drowning Pool , with variations, making it the longest tenured theme song used in the program. Whenever SmackDown! shared the arena with Raw during the 2005–2007 period in a form of a supershow, the SmackDown! stage utilized all or some components of the same set from Raw . From November 2, 2012, until April 18, 2014, SmackDown began using "Born 2 Run" by 7Lions as its theme song , with "This Life" by CFO$ and Cody B. Ware serving as
5751-474: The type of event. Football (be it association , rugby , gridiron , Australian rules , or Gaelic ) is typically played in a stadium, while basketball , volleyball , handball , and ice hockey are typically played in an arena, although many of the larger arenas hold more spectators than do the stadiums of smaller colleges or high schools. There are exceptions. The home of the Duke University men's and women's basketball teams would qualify as an arena, but
5832-622: The usual smaller playing surface of most arenas; variants of other traditionally outdoor sports, including box lacrosse as well as futsal and indoor soccer , also exist. The term "arena" is also used loosely to refer to any event or type of event which either literally or metaphorically takes place in such a location, often with the specific intent of comparing an idea to a sporting event. Such examples of these would be terms such as "the arena of war", "the arena of love" or "the political arena". WWE SmackDown WWE SmackDown , also known as Friday Night SmackDown or simply SmackDown ,
5913-427: The variety of events hosted by the new Centrum after only a few months of operation. From August 13 to August 24, 1987, in an effort to thank their local fans for years of support and allow wide availability of tickets, Boston played an unprecedented nine-show run on their Third Stage tour . Starting with a three-night booking, as each show neared selling out another night was added. This successful tour stop prompted
5994-579: The venues and Worcester's strong performance with Urban concerts since the early 1990s. Boston natives Aerosmith have performed at the DCU Center 13 times over the course of their career, including a few New Year's Eve shows. Popular rapper Tyler, the Creator took the stage at DCU on March 3, 2022. The arena features annual appearances of the top family shows including Sesame Street Live , Disney on Ice , Harlem Globetrotters and The Wiggles , among others. The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) has hosted
6075-454: The wake of its then-upcoming sale of its in-house studios to Disney . Fox had hoped to acquire Raw for the Fox network and SmackDown for FS1 . However, amid a competitive bidding situation, NBCUniversal focused its efforts on renewing Raw , freeing up Fox to pursue SmackDown . In particular, Fox promised a larger amount of promotion for SmackDown during its sports programming , as well as
6156-536: Was a free concert sponsored by The City of Worcester with Mayor Sara Robertson acting as Master of Ceremonies with the New England Symphony Orchestra performing. The first paid opening event was a Frank Sinatra concert on September 2, 1982. The arena was expanded to 14,800 seats in 1989 with the addition of the 300-level balconies. The convention center addition was completed along with a renovation of arena infrastructure in 1997. This upgrade resulted in
6237-412: Was a new design with multiple LED side panels on each side with a titan-tron in a semi circle in the center. The new set also introduced LED floor panels on the entrance ramp. Feedback was more positive for this set design. With the shift to Fox, both Raw and SmackDown introduced new sets during their "premiere week". The new set featured a large TitanTron screen, with semi-arches partially resembling
6318-556: Was cutting deeply into the Providence Civic Center's vital concert business. Shortly after the Centrum's September 1982 opening, RI promoter Frank J. Russo scheduled KISS on their Creatures of the Night Tour /10th Anniversary Tour for a January 23, 1983 show at their usual area stop – the Providence Civic Center . He also scheduled a show the night prior at the new Centrum. The Centrum KISS date sold thousands more tickets than
6399-622: Was filmed and later released as a live DVD. The arena played host to The Tattoo the Earth Tour on October 5–7, 2001, and October 12–14, 2002. The show featured performances by Slipknot , Slayer , Sevendust , Sepultura , Hed PE , Mudvayne , downset. , Hatebreed , Full Devil Jacket , Famous, Amen , U.P.O. , Nothingface , PPM, Cold , Relative Ash, Systematic , Six Feet Under , Candiria , Lamb of God , God Forbid , Darkest Hour , Unearth , All That Remains , Dropkick Murphys , Sick of It All , Tiger Army , Converge , The Unseen , Reach
6480-588: Was formerly home to the Worcester Sharks American Hockey League (AHL) team, owned and operated by its NHL affiliate San Jose Sharks , which moved its farm team to the west coast in 2015. Prior to this, the venue was home to the Worcester IceCats , also of the AHL. The arena also hosted the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic on January 29, 2009. The PlanetUSA All stars defeated Team Canada, 14–11, in
6561-590: Was so popular that WCW moved Thunder to Wednesdays so that it would not compete directly. Throughout the show's early existence, The Rock routinely called SmackDown! "his show", in reference to the fact that the name was derived from one of his catchphrases , "Layeth the Smack down". In March 2002, WWF implemented the " brand extension ", under which Raw and SmackDown! would have separate rosters of performers that are exclusive to their respective programs and events, and be positioned in-universe as competing "brands" (in
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