As if SmackDown moving to FOX was not hyped up, WWE decided to make the stakes higher announcing The Rock for the show. As confirmed on this past Monday night, The Great One will be making his return to WWE television on this week for Friday Night SmackDown. It won’t be a permanent return for sure, but it’s always great to have him back on WWE TV programming. He is the ‘most electrifying man in sports entertainment’, after all.
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Meanwhile, WWE is benefiting from the announcement regarding The Rock who shows up on October 4th. Demand for tickets for this week’s SmackDown has become high since the confirmations have been made. WWE programming also received a boost with a packed edition of Monday Night Raw that had its season premiere in Phoenix, Arizona, this week. But primarily it’s the big return that garnered attentions, (courtesy wrestlingINC.com)
“TickPick sent us word that ticket prices on the secondary market for Friday’s SmackDown have been skyrocketing since it was announced that The Rock will be appearing on the show. The no-fee secondary ticket marketplace noted that the get-in price has jumped 87% since yesterday’s announcement and currently sits at $116, up from $62 just a day ago. The average purchase price has increased 14% from $109.60 to $125.37, with the average listing price jumping 25% over that span ($263.80 to $330.80). Additionally, 23% of TickPick’s total orders for the event came through yesterday.”
Brad Shepard reported that WWE and The Rock were working on a deal for this WWE appearance until late last week. Finally, they have agreed this past Thursday and thereby the announcement came on Monday. WWE booking the former WWE Champion makes sense as he is one of the cornerstone figures of the SmackDown brand. He helped this brand to get fame during its initial run. So he will be back home indeed.
FINALLY…I come back home to my @WWE universe.
This FRIDAY NIGHT, I’ll return for our debut of SMACKDOWN!
LIVE on @FOXTV.
There’s no greater title than #thepeopleschamp.
And there’s no place like home.
Tequila on me after the show ??#IfYaSmell? #Smackdown#RocksShow #FOX pic.twitter.com/V5i4cxqIqH— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) September 30, 2019
Meanwhile, this is the first time in more than three years that we will see The Rock appearing on WWE TV. The last time he appeared on weekly TV was on an episode of Monday Night Raw in 2016, later that year he made an appearance at Wrestlemania 32. He picked up a win in just six seconds on the showcase of immortals.