WWE Announces Change To Upcoming SmackDown

Friday Night SmackDown will be a little bit different in early December.

WWE will head to Providence, Rhode Island for a SmackDown taping on Friday, December 8 but the show will not be a usual episode of SmackDown. Instead, WWE have announced the episode of SmackDown will be Tribute to the Troops 2023. The special episode will air live from 8 pm ET on FOX.

WWE have held Tribute to the Troops on an annual basis since 2003. The show was held at military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan for the first several years. It has taken place in the United States since 2010.

WWE noted in the announcement:

"Since its inception in 2003, WWE’s Tribute to the Troops has honored our U.S. service members, veterans and their families for their continued sacrifice and commitment to our country, and is widely considered one of television’s most patriotic and heartwarming shows of the year.

"WWE has a multi-decade commitment to the U.S. Armed Forces, which includes visiting nearly 400 military installations throughout the world, offering all U.S. military personnel free tickets to WWE live events, and has partnered with military organizations, such as Hire Heroes USA. WWE currently supports the USO and tells stories of heroism and valor of our nation’s bravest through the company’s partnership with National Medal of Honor Museum to make an impact in the community."

WWE recently celebrated Veterans Day by raising "one of the largest American flags in the country" at the company's headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.