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What's the story?
With the move of SmackDown Live to the Fox Network and its affiliates in the Fall, the channel has begun to air commercials for the new show.
WrestlingInc.com reported on the matter and the fact that WWE Superstars John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch were featured on the advertisements.
In case you didn't know...
WWE and Fox recently reached a deal for the rights to air SmackDown Live. It was a big coup for the WWE as one of its main shows would now be aired on one of the four major television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox).
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Moving to a bigger network will allow the WWE's product to reach a broader audience than when it has aired on SyFy and USA. One would think that the move will potentially allow WWE its biggest possible TV audience in the history of the company.
The heart of the matter
The report from WrestlingInc.com noted that Fox had started to air material to promote SmackDown's debut on October 4th. One advertisement featured Cena, Mysterio, Flair and Lynch. John Cena might still be the most recognized WWE superstar whereas Flair and Lynch are the two biggest female stars in the WWE with Ronda Rousey 'on hiatus'.
Mysterio's presence is also a way to direct promotional material at the Latino audience as he is the most recognizable Latin American name in pro wrestling over the last 20-25 years.
Another advertisement that Fox was running featured Cena, Flair, Mysterio and SmackDown's biggest acquisition ever, Roman Reigns. Reigns is the top dog in the company currently and was likely moved to SmackDown because of the potential for it to become the flagship show instead of Raw.
WrestlingInc.com's report also mentioned that it was strange that Mysterio was moved to Raw since he was featured on the promotional material. It also revealed that 'he was a big draw for Hispanic homes several years back when SmackDown aired on the CW Network'.
What's next?
Since there are still approximately around six months until the official debut, WWE will have more than enough time to tweak its product so that it fits with Fox's plans.
Expect some small, subtle changes regarding the presentation of the product, but there might be some big ones on deck in the coming months. Will the show be moved to three hours? We'll have to wait and see.
