WWE has finalized its schedule for the busy Thanksgiving holiday week, making a notable change that will give its talent and crew a day off from television production. According to a new report from WrestleVotes Radio, the SmackDown episode scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, will be taped in advance.
To make this possible, WWE will hold a dual taping event in Denver, Colorado, on Friday, November 22, the week prior to the holiday. This taping will cover both the live episode for that night and the episode for the following Friday, November 29, allowing performers to be home with their families for the holiday weekend.
Several years ago, WWE faced some backlash for scheduling a live episode of Raw on Christmas night from the Allstate Arena in Chicago. Despite the criticism about making talent work on a major holiday, the event was a success, and the arena was sold out. WWE has cut back on house shows in recent years because of TKO’s strategy to maximize profits.
Holding major wrestling events on holidays has a long tradition in the US. For decades, Thanksgiving Day was one of the biggest nights of the year for Jim Crockett Promotions and the National Wrestling Alliance. Their flagship event, Starrcade, was established as a Thanksgiving tradition throughout the 1980s, serving as the company’s equivalent to WrestleMania.
The concept was built around capitalizing on families being gathered together for the holiday, making it a lucrative night for events. This tradition has faded over the years, with most promotions now avoiding running major shows on Thanksgiving Day itself. Similarly, wrestling on Christmas has also been a common practice.
Historically, promotions often ran live events in major markets during the week of Christmas to attract holiday crowds. WWE has continued this tradition with a popular and financially successful live event tour that typically runs through big arenas across North America during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, taking advantage of families being on vacation and looking for entertainment. The taped episode that will air on Friday, November 28, will be the go-home show for WWE Survivor Series, which is scheduled to take place the following night on Saturday, November 29, in San Diego, California.
