Will The Rock Appear Next Week On The SmackDown Debut?
–WWE is moving SmackDown to Fox next Friday. This is something we’ve known about for months. As we’ve gotten closer, we’ve had some information leak, while other is, at this point, pure speculation.
WWE confirmed that the October 4 debut is going to be the 20th Anniversary show for the blue brand. As such, the company is trotting out a bevy of legends and Hall of Famers-Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Ric Flair and others have all been confirmed.
One name not on the list? The Rock, the man who gave the show it’s name and identity.
Now, this lack of news there is likely purely based on the fact that The Rock is a very busy man. He’s working on multiple projects, so pinning him down for a particular appearance can be a challenge.
According to Ad Age, WWE has surprises in store for fans next Friday, above and beyond what’s been announced. While no one is saying he will or will not show up, even that publication loosely connects some dots as to how it would make sense.
I am all for surprises, and The Rock would be a huge one. The only catch here is, as big an attraction as he is, you almost want to ensure you announce his appearance ahead of time in order to realize any ratings bump you could get.
Fox Making Commercial Changes To SmackDown?
-Sticking with Ad Age related items, it appears as Fox may have a different way of reducing the commercial interruptions.
You might recall, several months back, Vince McMahon was going heavy on 2 out of 3 falls matches and the like, in an effort to have breaks in matches for commercials. It was annoying and lead to some crazy quick falls, among other things.
Now, Fox might have a smarter approach. It seems as though the network may be willing to reduce the number of commercials run during the blue brand show in order to keep the product on air. This may end up being similar to what Fox does for other sports broadcasts, where they manage their commercial breaks to work with the flow of the sporting event.
