WWE SmackDown schedule altered heading into Elimination Chamber

The final episode of WWE SmackDown before the Elimination Chamber premium live event won't be a live broadcast.

According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, the February 11 episode of WWE SmackDown from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, will serve as a double taping. The company plans to tape the February 18 episode of SmackDown on the same evening.

For WWE, it would be impossible to have a live episode of SmackDown on the 18th due to the travel logistics of making it to Saudi Arabia in enough time for the Elimination Chamber. This is a new obstacle for WWE to tackle as Saudi Arabia shows are typically done on Thursdays, and the move to Saturday made this taping a necessary decision.

The Elimination Chamber heads to Saudi Arabia

WWE has been running pay-per-views (now known as premium live events) in Saudi Arabia since April of 2018.

But the Elimination Chamber is the first big WWE event in Saudi Arabia that isn't being held on a Thursday or Friday.

This move could up being very beneficial to WWE as not many people in the United States are available to watch these shows on a Thursday afternoon. The event being held on a Saturday could potentially bring in many more viewers.

WWE appears to be stacking this premium live event to set it up for success. The following two matches were announced for the show last night on WWE RAW:

• Becky Lynch will defend the RAW Women's Championship against Lita
• Bobby Lashley will defend the WWE Championship in the Chamber against Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles, Riddle, Seth Rollins, and Austin Theory

What are your thoughts on the upcoming SmackDown taping? Do you like the idea of WWE running premium live events in Saudi Arabia on Saturdays going forward? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.