WWE Announcing Details of First Primetime NBC Special Since 2008 Imminently: Report

Last fall, WWE announced that they would soon be moving SmackDown back to the USA Network for the first time since 2019 beginning in 2024. Additionally, the five-year deal includes four primetime specials per year that will begin airing in the 2024/2025 television season, though there was no indication at the time as to what they could be. According to a new report from WrestleVotes, WWE is set to announce further details about their return to NBC for the first time since 2008 imminently. While most of those details are remaining close to the vest, there is speculation within the company that it may take place sometime in December. Tickets are expected to go on-sale for the special next Friday.

WWE SmackDown officially moves back to USA Network beginning next week, where it will join Monday Night Raw and WWE NXT for the remainder of their contracts. NXT will soon head to The CW with a marquee match between recent WWE signee Giulia and NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez as well as an appearance from CM Punk. Meanwhile, Raw will make a dominating debut on Netflix in 2025 where there is expected to be additional content for fans to enjoy.

“NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades,” said WWE President Nick Khan last September. “We are excited to extend this longstanding relationship by bringing SmackDown to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC.”

As noted by Khan above, WWE has a long-standing relationship with NBC which began with the formation of Saturday Night’s Main Event in 1985. The show aired on NBC and acted as a placeholder for Saturday Night Live. On each special, fans could see a lot of their favorite megastars in unique matchups and the show would almost act as the equivalent of a PLE in today’s market. WWE and NBC revived the concept in the early 2000s very briefly. The Saturday Night’s Main Event title made a return in 2022 when WWE opted to use it for a portion of their house shows which continued throughout April of this year when it was fizzled out.

For the latest updates on WWE’s exciting announcement, stay tuned to ComicBook.