When SmackDown Live moves to FOX, WWE wants to ensure that the show's ratings are as high as possible. With that in mind, it's been confirmed today that the premiere will celebrate the blue brand's 20th anniversary and that means it will feature plenty of names from the past.
Taking pkace in the Staples Center in Los Angles on Friday, October 4th, WWE Hall of Famers Kurt Angle, Lita, Mick Foley, Booker T, Hulk Hogan, Trish Stratus, Goldberg, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Mark Henry, Ric Flair, and Sting are all advertised to appear.
"SmackDown has been delivering action-packed, family-friendly programming for two decades, and we look forward to entertaining generations to come as we begin this next chapter on FOX," said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & CEO.
"Since we announced our five-year agreement last June, we have been eagerly counting down the days to the launch of SmackDown LIVE on FOX Sports," said Eric Shanks, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Producer of FOX Sports. "We couldn’t be more excited and are pulling out all of the stops to commemorate SmackDown’s 20th anniversary celebration."
It's a little troubling that WWE is launching this new era of SmackDown Live with faces from the past but the RAW "Reunion" did huge numbers so this does also make sense in some ways.