WWE will be making some temporary changes to its television schedule over the next few weeks.
With the company taking a week away from live programming before a busy stretch in September, one episode of Raw and two episodes of SmackDown will be taped in advance.
Monday’s Raw from Ottawa, Ontario will begin at 6 p.m. ET, two hours earlier than usual. WWE will then tape the August 28 episode of SmackDown following Raw.
WWE also has a taping scheduled for August 28 in Cleveland. Rather than airing SmackDown live that night, the company will tape both the August 31 episode of Raw and September 4 episode of SmackDown from Cleveland.
Raw will be released on Netflix during its normal Monday night time slot on August 31, while SmackDown will air worldwide at 8 p.m. ET on September 4.
With WWE’s main roster talent expected to be available for both the Ottawa and Cleveland tapings, the company will have the option of loading up the shows with several of its top stars.
WWE will return to its regular live schedule with Raw from Birmingham, Alabama on September 7, kicking off an especially busy week for WWE and TKO.
SmackDown takes place from Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City on September 11, followed by the first night of TripleMania in Las Vegas later that evening. TKO is also promoting the Conor Benn vs. Ryan Garcia boxing match in Las Vegas on September 12, while UFC Noche takes place earlier that day in Phoenix.
The second TripleMania show is scheduled for September 13 in Mexico City, with WWE returning to Arena Ciudad de México for Raw the following night. WWE house shows in Guadalajara and Monterrey are also scheduled ahead of the September 11 SmackDown.
There will additionally be some direct competition with CMLL during WWE’s Mexico City run. The September 11 SmackDown will go head-to-head with CMLL at Arena México, while the September 13 TripleMania takes place on the same day as another CMLL event. The latter begins at 5 p.m. local time.
With CMLL also building toward its Anniversary show, both sides are expected to present significant cards during the busy stretch in Mexico.
(H/T: F4WOnline.com)
