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What’s the story?
According to Ross Kelly of Wrestling Inc., Fox reportedly wants the RAW Women’s champion, Ronda Rousey, on SmackDown Live when the show moves to the network in October 2019.
In case you didn’t know…
SmackDown Live will be switching networks on October 4, 2019; Fox and WWE signed a five-year agreement that’s worth $1.025 billion dollars in total. The Blue Brand will transition back to Friday nights.
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There’s already speculation on what changes the network wants SmackDown Live to go under when it arrives on Fox.
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The Wrestling Observer reported on the network wanting the blue brand to feature fewer comedy segments and have a sport like vibe to the event. Fox will be pushing SmackDown Live as a major sporting event for its programming from Thursday to Sunday thus the network wants to advertise wrestling during NFL games and other athletic events.
Observer also reported on Fox wanting Daniel Cormier as a commentator for SmackDown Live as “Fox loves Cormier from the UFC and they don’t want to lose him,” Meltzer stated.
There have reportedly been talks between Cormier and WWE but the UFC Heavyweight champion turned down an audition for the commentary role to focus on his fight against Daniel Lewis at UFC 230 earlier this month; however, Cormier still plans to audition for the role in the future.
The heart of the matter
It appears that Fox wants another UFC star on the blue brand, but this time its RAW women’s champion, Ronda Rousey. According to Wrestling Inc., Fox wants Ronda Rousey on the Smackdown roster. The network believes that Rousey could be the focal selling point of the show due to her mainstream appeal, her MMA background, and credibility as an athlete.
What’s next?
There’s no word on if Vince McMahon will indeed put Rousey on the blue brand but speculation is that the company will treat SmackDown Live as the A show when it moves over to Fox. The company usually holds drafts every year after WrestleMania so a couple big names including Rousey could possibly make the jump to the blue brand. Of course, this is all speculation at this point.
