SmackDown is a
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
of the American
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
promotion
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to SmackDown primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, ''
Friday Night SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
'', also referred to simply as ''SmackDown''. It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
, collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand was discontinued for a period between August 2011 and July 2016.
In addition to the television program, SmackDown wrestlers also perform on the branded and co-branded
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
and
livestreaming events
Event may refer to:
Gatherings of people
* Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion
* Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest
* Event management, the organization of ev ...
. During the first brand split (2002–2011), SmackDown wrestlers also competed on an exclusive supplementary show, ''
Velocity
Velocity is the directional speed of an object in motion as an indication of its rate of change in position as observed from a particular frame of reference and as measured by a particular standard of time (e.g. northbound). Velocity is a ...
'', and on ''
ECW ECW may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001
* The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
'' under a talent exchange program with the former
ECW ECW may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001
* The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
brand, while during the second brand split (2016–present), the brand's wrestlers have appeared in the interbrand ''
Mixed Match Challenge
''WWE Mixed Match Challenge,'' also known simply as ''Mixed Match Challenge,'' was a seasonal professional wrestling series and tournament that was produced by WWE, where all matches are mixed tag team matches. Like all professional wrestling e ...
'', ''
Worlds Collide'' and annual ''
Tribute to the Troops
''WWE Tribute to the Troops'' is an American annual professional wrestling event held by WWE and Armed Forces Entertainment. Since 2003, the show airs as a television special during the month of December (specifically during the holiday season), ...
'' events.
History
First split (2002–2011)
![Stephanie McMahon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Stephanie_McMahon.jpg)
In its conception, according to
Bruce Prichard
Bruce Prichard (born March 7, 1963) is an American professional wrestling executive, booker, and producer and a former manager, commentator, and occasional professional wrestler. In addition to his corporate roles with WWE, Prichard has also a ...
in his ''
Something to Wrestle'' podcast released in October 2018, the then World Wrestling Federation (WWF) originally planned to make ''SmackDown!'' an
all-women's brand but ultimately decided against it because of the lack of talent.
In March 2002, WWF underwent the "
brand extension",
a process in which WWE divided itself into two branches with separate rosters, storylines and
authority figures.
The two divisions, hosted by and named after ''Raw'' and ''SmackDown!'', would compete against each other. The split resulted from WWE purchasing its two biggest competitors,
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
(WCW) and
Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(ECW); and the subsequent doubling of its roster and
championships. The brand extension was made public during a telecast of ''Raw'' on March 18, initiated with the first
draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
a week later on the March 25 episode of ''Raw'' and became official on the April 1 episode of ''Raw''.
Wrestlers began to wrestle exclusively for their specific show. At the time, this excluded the
WWE Undisputed Championship and
WWE Women's Championship
WWE (formerly the WWF, WWWF, and its predecessor, Capitol Wrestling) has maintained several women's professional wrestling championships since acquiring The Fabulous Moolah's NWA World Women's Championship in 1984. Whenever brand division has be ...
as those WWE titles would be defended on both shows.
In August 2002, then WWE Undisputed Champion,
Brock Lesnar, refused to defend the title on ''Raw'', in effect causing his title to become exclusive to ''SmackDown!''.
The following week on ''Raw'',
Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded a newly instated
World Heavyweight Championship to Raw's designated number one contender
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...
. Accordingly, Lesnar's championship was no longer deemed "undisputed". Following this, the WWE Women's Championship soon became a Raw exclusive as well. As a result of the brand extension, an annual "
draft lottery" was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.
SmackDown! was the home brand for many top WWE stars including
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero i ...
,
Batista
Batista is a Spanish or Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include:
* Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player
* Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also known as Batista
* Edina Alves Batis ...
,
Big Show
Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...
,
John "Bradshaw" Layfield
John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966), better known by the ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield (abbreviated to JBL), is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on ...
(JBL),
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...
,
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
,
The Undertaker
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majorit ...
,
Rey Mysterio
Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest prof ...
,
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...
, and
Torrie Wilson
Torrie Anne Wilson (born July 24, 1975) is an American former professional wrestler and model. She is best known for her time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE, previously the World Wrestling Federation).
As a fitness competitor, Wilson won ...
. Guerrero would go on to become the WWE Champion as part of the show, thus becoming the main feature of ''SmackDown!'' throughout 2004 and the most popular wrestler of that year. The biggest star of the next decade, John Cena, started his WWE career on this brand and rose to stardom as "Doctor of Thuganomics" on the show, eventually winning his first WWE Championship during his tenure on the brand.
![Teddylong](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Teddylong.jpg)
On June 6, then WWE Champion John Cena switched brands from SmackDown! to Raw as part of the month-long
2005 draft lottery. This effectively left SmackDown! without a
world title
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
. On the June 23 episode of ''SmackDown!'',
SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long
Theodore Robert Rufus Long (born September 15, 1947) is an American former professional referee and manager known for his work for WWE and WCW serving as an on-screen authority figure. Long began his career in the National Wrestling Alliance ...
scheduled a
six-man elimination match between
Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to
* Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century
** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T."
* Booker T. Jones (born 1944) ...
,
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...
,
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
(replacing Big Show, who was picked by Raw in the lottery), John "Bradshaw" Layfield,
Muhammad Hassan and The Undertaker to crown the first SmackDown! Champion. On the June 30 episode of ''SmackDown!'', JBL won the match, but Long appeared afterward and stated that even though he had won the match SmackDown! did not need a championship anymore, instead revealing that JBL was the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, at which point
Batista
Batista is a Spanish or Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include:
* Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player
* Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also known as Batista
* Edina Alves Batis ...
, then World Heavyweight Champion, entered the ring as SmackDown!'s final draft lottery pick.
At the ''SmackDown!'' taping on January 10, 2006, that aired January 13, Batista had to forfeit the World Heavyweight Championship because of a
legitimate triceps
The triceps, or triceps brachii (Latin for "three-headed muscle of the arm"), is a large muscle on the back of the upper limb of many vertebrates. It consists of 3 parts: the medial, lateral, and long head. It is the muscle principally responsibl ...
injury suffered at the hands of
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator/analyst, coach, and talent scout. He is b ...
the previous week. Long decreed a
battle royal
Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...
for the
vacant
Within the context of building construction and building codes, "occupancy" refers to the use, or intended use, of a building, or portion of a building, for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is t ...
title, which was won by Kurt Angle, who was on the Raw brand, but switched to the SmackDown! brand for the duration of his reign as champion. On the April 7 episode of ''SmackDown!'' (which was taped on April 4), Long revived the
King of the Ring
King of the Ring was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The PPV event was held annually in June and was established in 1993 when the promotion ...
tournament after a four-year hiatus as a SmackDown! exclusive tournament. The tournament ended at
Judgment Day with
Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to
* Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century
** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T."
* Booker T. Jones (born 1944) ...
as the winner, defeating
Bobby Lashley
Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is an eight-time world champion, having been a two-t ...
in the final.
On October 16, 2007, the SmackDown! and
ECW ECW may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001
* The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
brands began a talent exchange, allowing their respective talent to appear and compete on either brand, as ''ECW'' was broadcast live from the same arena where ''SmackDown!'' was taped.
During the
2008 WWE draft, WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to SmackDown, resulting in two world championships appearing on the brand –
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
was the World Heavyweight Champion at the time – and leaving Raw without a world title. However, Edge was attacked by Batista on the June 30 episode of ''Raw'' and immediately afterwards
CM Punk cashed in his
Money in the Bank contract to become World Heavyweight Champion, bringing the World Heavyweight Championship back to Raw for the first time since 2005. Also that year, for the first time in the brand's history a women's exclusive championship was introduced, the
Divas Championship
The WWE Divas Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship in WWE. The championship was created by WWE in 2008, and was introduced as part of the WWE brand extension via a storyline by then SmackDown General Manager Vickie Gu ...
, a counterpart to the Women's Championship that had been the only active championship competed for by
Divas
Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...
, but which was exclusive to Raw, meaning that the Divas on SmackDown had no championship to compete for.
Michelle McCool
Michelle Leigh Calaway (née McCool; born January 25, 1980) is an American retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with WWE, where she is a former two-time WWE Divas Champion and a two-time WWE Women's Champion.
McCool ...
became the inaugural champion by defeating
Natalya Natalya (russian: Наталья) is the Russian form of the female given name Natalia.
The name Natasha (russian: link=no, Наташа), being originally a diminutive form of Natalya, became an independent name outside the Russian-speaking state ...
on July 20 at
The Great American Bash
The Great American Bash is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. Created by Dusty Rhodes, the event was established in 1985 and was originally produced by the National Wr ...
.
On February 15, 2009, at
No Way Out, Edge won the World Heavyweight Championship in Raw's
Elimination Chamber
The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...
match, thus making it a SmackDown exclusive title and giving SmackDown two top tier championships.
As a result of the
2009 WWE draft in April, then WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to Raw while the World Heavyweight Championship also moved to the Raw brand after Edge lost the title to Cena at
WrestleMania 25
WrestleMania 25 (also marketed as The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania and written as WrestleMania 25th Anniversary) was the 25th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE ...
, once again leaving SmackDown without a world title.
SmackDown regained the World Heavyweight Championship at
Backlash
Backlash may refer to:
Literature
* '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi
* ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston
* Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character
* ''Backla ...
when Edge invoked his WrestleMania rematch clause and defeated Cena in a Last Man Standing match to win the championship back.
In addition, Raw and SmackDown exchanged both women-exclusive championships with Raw gaining the Divas Championship and SmackDown gaining the Women's Championship. This marked the first time in history that the Women's Championship had ever been exclusive to SmackDown. Raw and SmackDown also exchanged the
United States Championship (which became exclusive to Raw) and the
Intercontinental Championship (subsequently exclusive to SmackDown) for the first time since
August 25, 2002.
On the August 29, 2011, episode of ''Raw'', it was announced that performers from Raw and SmackDown were no longer exclusive to their respective brand. Subsequently, championships previously exclusive to one show or the other were available for wrestlers from any show to compete for—this would mark the end of the brand extension as all programming and live events featured the full WWE roster. In a 2013 interview with ''
Advertising Age
''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in m ...
'',
Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon Levesque (born Stephanie Marie McMahon; ; September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is the current chairwoman and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the world's largest prof ...
explained that WWE's decision to end the brand extension was due to wanting their content to flow across television and online platforms.
Second split (2016–present)
On May 25, 2016, it was revealed that the brand split would return in July. The
2016 WWE draft took place on the live premiere episode of ''SmackDown'' on July 19 to determine the rosters between both brands. On the July 11 episode of ''Raw'',
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...
named
Shane McMahon
Shane Brandon McMahon (; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he was a wrestler, producer and minority owner. He is the founder and executive chairman of Idean ...
the commissioner of ''SmackDown''.
Then next week on ''Raw'',
Daniel Bryan was revealed as the new SmackDown General Manager.
Due to ''Raw'' being a three-hour show and ''SmackDown'' being a two-hour show, Raw received three picks each round and SmackDown received two.
WWE Champion
Dean Ambrose
Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wres ...
was SmackDown's first pick.
After the return of the brand split, most pay-per-views became exclusive to one brand, (with SmackDown producing
Backlash
Backlash may refer to:
Literature
* '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi
* ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston
* Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character
* ''Backla ...
(
2016 and
2017),
No Mercy (2016)
The 2016 No Mercy was the 12th No Mercy professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's SmackDown brand division. The event took place on October 9, ...
,
TLC (2016),
Elimination Chamber (2017)
The 2017 Elimination Chamber (known as No Escape in Germany) was the seventh Elimination Chamber professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's SmackDown b ...
,
Money in the Bank (2017),
Battleground (2017)
The 2017 Battleground was the fifth annual and final Battleground professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's SmackDown brand division. The event took p ...
,
Hell in a Cell (2017),
Clash of Champions (2017)
The 2017 Clash of Champions was the second Clash of Champions professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's SmackDown brand division. The event took place ...
and
Fastlane (2018)
The 2018 Fastlane was the fourth Fastlane professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wresters from the promotion's SmackDown brand division. The event took place on March 11, 2 ...
). From
WrestleMania 34
WrestleMania 34 was the 34th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 8, 2 ...
onwards, all pay-per-views became dual-branded again.
On the November 7, 2017, episode of ''SmackDown'',
AJ Styles
Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...
defeated
Jinder Mahal
Yuvraj Singh Dhesi (born July 19, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand, under the ring name Jinder Mahal.
Having started his career on the independent circuit, Mahal joine ...
for the WWE Championship. On April 10, 2018, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that Daniel Bryan was back as a full-time WWE Superstar for the roster after his in-ring return at
WrestleMania 34
WrestleMania 34 was the 34th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on April 8, 2 ...
, therefore "graciously accepted Daniel's resignation as SmackDown General Manager". McMahon then named
Paige, who had retired from in-ring competition due to injury the night before on Raw, as the new SmackDown General Manager.
When SmackDown moved to FOX beginning with the October 4, 2019, episode, it eventually replaced Raw as the "A" Show. As a result, SmackDown became the home for the WWE's top stars such as
Roman Reigns
Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the leader of The B ...
,
Brock Lesnar,
Drew McIntyre
Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre.
McIntyre is a two-time WWE Champion, one-time WWE I ...
and
the Usos
The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They ar ...
.
Champions
Initially, the Undisputed WWE Championship and the original WWE Women's Championship were available to both brands.
[ ] The other championships were exclusive to the brand the champion was a part of.
When the brand extension began, SmackDown became the exclusive home for the
World Tag Team Championship
The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championship (professional wrestling), championships in professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotions, promotions.
Nomenclature
The name of the promo ...
and the original
Cruiserweight Championship.
In September 2002, the Undisputed Championship became the WWE Championship again and was moved to SmackDown, prompting Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff to create the World Heavyweight Championship for Raw.
SmackDown created the
WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE (formerly the WWF, the WWWF, and Capitol Wrestling) has maintained at least one primary tag team championship for its male performers since 1958 (except for a two year interim between 1967 and 1969). During periods of brand division, separat ...
and they revived the United States Championship.
Over the course of the first brand extension, these championships switched between brands, usually due to the result of the annual draft. However, the Cruiserweight title was the only championship to never switch brands, staying on SmackDown from 2002 until the championship's retirement on September 28, 2007.
In October 2007, SmackDown and ECW began a talent exchange agreement, which meant that SmackDown talent could appear on ''ECW'' and vice versa. This allowed the United States Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship to be shared between the two brands.
In July 2008, the Divas Championship was created for SmackDown, allowing the SmackDown Divas to compete for a title.
With the brand extension ending in 2011, all Raw and SmackDown titles
were merged. After five years, a new brand extension was introduced on July 19, 2016. SmackDown drafted the WWE Champion and the Intercontinental Champion. As SmackDown was lacking a
tag team championship
A championship or title in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations.
Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rivalr ...
and a
women's championship
The Women's Championship (formerly The FA Women's Championship) is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The division was established in 2014 as the FA Women's Super League 2 (WSL 2).
WSL 2 replaced the previous level 2 d ...
, Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan introduced the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, representing the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two male tag team championships for WWE' ...
and
SmackDown Women's Championship
The WWE SmackDown Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two women's world titles for WWE's main ros ...
.
In the
2017 Superstar Shake-Up, the Intercontinental Championship was moved to Raw and in exchange, the United States Championship moved back to SmackDown. The following year during the
2018 Superstar Shake-Up, the United States Championship was moved to Raw, but returned to SmackDown the next night. At
Crown Jewel on October 31, 2019, SmackDown wrestler
"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt won the
Universal Championship, thus bringing the title to SmackDown. On the next night's episode of ''SmackDown'', WWE Champion
Brock Lesnar quit SmackDown and went to Raw, taking the title with him.
Current championships
*Note – The
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the only women's tag team championship for WWE's main roster, thus is defended across bot ...
can also be defended on SmackDown as it is shared among the brands
Raw 2/18/19 - WWE.com
/ref>
Previous championships
Pay-per-view and WWE Network events
First brand split events
Second brand split events
Notes
References
{{Professional wrestling in the United States
WWE SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
WWE brands
2002 establishments in the United States
2011 disestablishments in the United States
2016 establishments in the United States