# WWE SmackDown (1999)

> A weekly live sports entertainment show where WWE's SmackDown superstars collide in scripted rivalries and athletic matches.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1460

## Facts

- Seasons: 28
- Episodes: 1429
- Episode runtime: 88 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: reality
- Created by: Vince McMahon
- Network: FOX, USA Network, UPN, The CW, Syfy, MyNetworkTV
- Cast: Nick Nemeth, John Cena, Randy Orton, Brie Garcia, Nikki Garcia, Lance Anoa'i, Everett Lawrence Titus, Richard Bocchini
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0227972/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: brash, boisterous, theatrical, comedic, energetic

## What critics say

Audiences rate the long-running weekly wrestling show positively overall, with ratings steady in the mid-to-high sevens across most seasons and a sharp drop in the most recent season.

## Synopsis

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (1999-present) is a long-running American professional wrestling series created by Vince McMahon and broadcast across FOX, USA Network, UPN, The CW, Syfy and MyNetworkTV. Each episode is a live-style weekly show in which the superstars of the SmackDown brand clash in scripted rivalries and athletic matches. Wrestlers such as Randy Orton and John Cena appear alongside Dolph Ziggler, Brie Bella and Nikki Bella, whose feuds, title pursuits and backstage alliances supply the throughline of each broadcast. The engine is simple and constant: a wrestler wants a championship or revenge, rivals block the path, and the next week's show escalates the conflict with promos, tag matches and surprise interference. Across twenty-eight seasons the format has remained a weekly sequence of contests, character confrontations and crowd-driven spectacle rather than a single storyline. Its tone is brash, boisterous and theatrical, with moments of comedy and bravado that keep it accessible to casual viewers and devoted fans alike. Fans of Monday Night Raw and the broader tradition of American sports entertainment will find the same blend of rivalry, showmanship and brand identity here, rendered in a steady weekly rhythm that has defined the show for decades.

## Shows like WWE SmackDown

- [All Elite Wrestling: Rampage (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/105202)
- [WWE NXT (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/29451)
- [Raw (1993)](https://ember.film/tv/4432)
- [WWE Main Event (2012)](https://ember.film/tv/42310)
- [Lip Sync Battle (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55443)
- [Lucha Underground (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/55154)
- [BattleBots (2000)](https://ember.film/tv/1206)
- [Undertaker: The Last Ride (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/86277)
- [World of Dance (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/62777)
- [Wipeout (2008)](https://ember.film/tv/5281)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt