WWE SmackDown Set For New Year's Day Clash With AEW Dynamite

WWE and AEW are preparing for an unusual Friday night head-to-head.© NDTV Library

WWE is reportedly sticking with its original plan for the first SmackDown of 2027, even though the January 1 show now goes head-to-head with AEW. Dynamite: New Year's Smash has been moved to Friday for the occasion, so the two promotions will run opposite each other on New Year's Day. WWE had already arranged to record its episode ahead of time so the roster could spend the holiday with their families, and the company reportedly has no intention of changing that. The result is a taped SmackDown going out against a special AEW show.

#AEWGrandSlam France was just pure ???? What was your favorite moment of AEW's debut in Paris? Catch the replay on HBO Max, and don't miss #AEWCollision Grand Slam France THIS SATURDAY on TNT + HBO Max! https://t.co/t4xPxDWBZK

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 7, 2026

WWE will reportedly tape the January 1 SmackDown episode on December 28

Anyone tuning in on Friday, January 1 won't be watching it happen live.

The episode is reportedly set to be recorded on December 28, a double taping that WWE has advertised for Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida, with Raw also coming from the building that night.

None of that has shifted since AEW made its scheduling move, and the holiday arrangement for the talent stays exactly as it was.

It's the first time WWE and AEW will be competing directly on New Year's Day. Dynamite normally airs on Wednesdays, so Friday is a one-off slot for New Year's Smash, and that's what created the overlap with SmackDown.

WWE reportedly does not expect the taped show to lose viewers to AEW

Inside WWE, the thinking is reportedly pretty relaxed. Management doesn't believe a pre-recorded episode in the middle of the holidays will move its viewership in any big way, and a live AEW broadcast on the same night isn't expected to change that view.

There's apparently no reason, as far as the company sees it, to rework the schedule just because Dynamite landed on the same evening.

So both sides are staying put. AEW gets its special Friday edition of Dynamite, and WWE airs the episode it recorded on December 28.

Another WWE-AEW overlap is coming up sooner, though. NXT is moving from its usual Tuesday slot to Wednesday because of the US elections on November 3, which puts it directly against AEW Dynamite.

The NXT show is set to feature the Halloween Havoc fallout and the Dusty Classic finals, with Cody Rhodes presenting the winners' trophy and John Cena making a special appearance.