In general, WWE hosts the televised episodes of their programming in bigger and famous arenas. Raw, Smackdown and PPV events get telecasted on live television and hence, these need to be streamed from the famous places that help to sell out the arena, most of the time.
This week, the scenario was something different as an odd venue was inserted into the list.
Both this week’s Raw and Smackdown were hosted from the arenas which we are not being used to seeing in televised editions. Raw took place at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, whereas, Smackdown Live took place at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. The latter venue mentioned arena hosted an on-air episode after quite a long time raising questions why the company brought back the show, there.
The Lane Report has given some updates regarding this. They mentioned WWE hosted Smackdown Live in this particular venue after six long years. They hosted numerous house shows in the past years but not a live on-air show. There’s a big reason behind this.
The state of Kentucky has a certain rule named, ‘the cut rule’. Via this rule, a performer has to leave the ring if he bleeds during a match. Since pro-wrestling matches are extremely physical, the company could not take risks of hosting live streaming shows in this state.
However, this rule and 40 percent of combat sports’ regulations were repeated in 2016. So, the company did not have any obstacle while hosting Smackdown in Lexington. So, we witnessed the main event match under No Disqualification rules where the competitors, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens ripped each other apart.
Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Commission (KBWC) Chairman Chad Miller commented on this occasion stating how much he is excited to welcome WWE back in Lexington. Check out his comments,
“It’s great to have WWE back in Kentucky for another live televised show. More shows translate to more dollars for local economies, and the Commission is thrilled that our efforts are paying off for our wrestling fans, athletes, local businesses, and the combat sports industry in Kentucky.”