The reason behind WWE’s decision to tape upcoming SmackDown episodes in November has been clarified.
According to Dave Meltzer on his latest Wrestling Observer Radio podcast, WWE will tape two shows on November 22nd to allow talent to spend Thanksgiving with their families rather than having to work on the holiday.
November 22nd SmackDown, they’re gonna be taping two shows. The reason is the 29th is the day after Thanksgiving. I think this is the first time they’ve ever done this—they’re not gonna run a taping that night. So all the talent can spend Thanksgiving night with their families.
Ordinarily, if WWE had scheduled the November 29th taping as usual, wrestlers would have had to fly out on Thanksgiving Day to be ready for Friday’s show. This time, with SmackDown set in Salt Lake City, the travel burden would have been especially challenging.
If it’s not in the vicinity of the northeast or the southeast… most of the talent live in Florida. The point of this all is they’re letting talent spend all of Thanksgiving with their family and they’re gonna get Friday off.
Meltzer highlighted how this move marks a shift from WWE’s previous approach.
The old ownership hadn’t had people work Thanksgiving, but they did have people having to fly on Thanksgiving to get to the Friday tapings, and that’s happened for years, so they’re not doing that this year.
This new scheduling approach reflects WWE’s effort to prioritize work-life balance, giving wrestlers a rare opportunity to enjoy a full Thanksgiving with family.
Which New Championship Did WWE Introduce On A Recent Episode Of SmackDown?
WWE introduced the WWE Women’s United States Championship on the November 8th episode of SmackDown. The new title was introduced by GM Nick Aldis in a backstage segment and later backed up by CCO Triple H via social media who challenged someone to step up and become the inaugural champion.
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