From Cain Velasquez to Logan Paul: Every Mainstream Star Power That WWE Pulled Through at SmackDown Premieres on Fox

SmackDown joined WWE’s network of shows in 1999 as a Thursday night show. The show gained its popularity due to the Thursday Night Wars with WCW. In 2019, WWE signed a 5-year deal with FOX Network for $265 million to telecast the show on Friday. Since then, they marked the first episode of October as the season premiere of SmackDown.

WWE tries to make their SmackDown season premiere shows memorable through special appearances. So, let’s take a ride back to recall all the celebrity appearances in the SmackDown season premiere shows.

Celebrities appearing on SmackDown premiere shows

WWE will hold their SmackDown premiere show on October 13th of this year. The premiere was held back by a week because of Roman Reigns’ return. It was also announced that WWE Creative Head Triple H would return to open the show as he did last year. Here’s how the previous premieres went.

1. Cain Velasquez: Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez made his special appearance on the October 4th, 2019 episode of SmackDown. He made his name after he defeated former UFC Champion Brock Lesnar. He immediately confronted Brock Lesnar as WWE wanted to set up a feud between the two for Crown Jewel. At the Saudi Arabia show, Lesnar avenged his UFC defeat as he made short work of Velasquez.

2. George Kittle: The tight end of the San Francisco 49ers is a WWE fan and made his appearance on the season premiere of SmackDown on September 24, 2019. In the backstage segment with Kayla Braxton, he appeared wearing a T-shirt of The Rock.

Read more: Triple H Goes Out of His Comfort Zone & Silently Hits Back at Tony Khan After Being Called a ‘Bald A**hole’

3. Logan Paul: The YouTube megastar appeared on the October 7th, 2022 episode of SmackDown as he approached The Tribal Chief. His appearance was to start a feud with Reigns for Crown Jewel. Logan Paul’s segment is more memorable as he seeded the doubts in The Bloodline for Jey Uso’s run as The Tribal Chief.

This year Roman Reigns will return to SmackDown. However, fans should be ready for surprises as it might be the last premiere show at Fox.

Who could be the next celebrity to appear in the show?

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