Chennai, India – June 21, 2016: The destiny of all WWE Superstars will be determined on the first-ever live SmackDown on Wednesday, July 20 at 5:30am IST on Ten Sports Network. A draft will be conducted by respective General Managers as to which talent will be chosen exclusively for Monday Night Raw® or SmackDown.
For the first time in history on back-to-back nights, these two distinctive brands (Monday Night Raw and Tuesday’s SmackDown) will compete with each other for television ratings, live events, and pay-per-views.
“This is an exciting new era for WWE in which we will yet again reinvent ourselves by creating a second night of compelling live television,” said Kevin Dunn, Executive Producer, WWE.
“The new live format of SmackDown is something that WWE viewers in India have been waiting to experience. Our audience is eagerly anticipating the live draft and can’t wait to see what in store for their favorite Superstars,” said Rajesh Sethi, Global CEO, Ten Sports Network
With 878 original episodes, SmackDown is the second longest-running weekly episodic program in U.S. television history, only behind Monday Night Raw at 1,203 episodes.
