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WWE Bringing Friday Night SmackDown To Big 12 Football Markets This Fall

WWE and the Big 12 Conference have officially announced an expansion of their partnership that will bring SmackDown to several college cities this fall.
Rick Ucchino|
Cam Skattebo poses with the WWE Most Valuable Player Belt
Cam Skattebo poses with the WWE Most Valuable Player Belt | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

WWE and the Big 12 Conference announced an expansion of their multi-faceted partnership Wednesday morning that will see four episodes of Friday Night SmackDown broadcast from Big 12 markets on the eve of conference games this upcoming football season.

Chris Vannini of The Athletic first broke this story back in May.

This expanded partnership with the Big 12 will officially kick off on Friday, August 22 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The 30th year of Big 12 Football will then get underway with a Week 0 matchup between the Iowa State Cyclones and Kansas State Wildcats in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic on Saturday, August 23 at Aviva Stadium.

Undertaker
Undertaker & Quinn Ewers at Big 12 Title Game | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

The other three Big 12 markets that will host Friday Night SmackDown this football season include Cincinnati, Tempe and Salt Lake City.

  • Friday, August 22 – SmackDown at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland (Iowa State vs. Kansas State on Saturday, August 23)
  • Friday, October 3 – SmackDown at Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio (Iowa State at Cincinnati on Saturday, October 4)
  • Friday, October 24 – SmackDown at Mullet Arena in Tempe, Arizona (Houston at Arizona State on Saturday, October 25)
  • Friday, October 31 – SmackDown at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah (Cincinnati at Utah on Saturday, November 1)

No ticket information for these shows has been released at this time. We will update you once those details become available.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com