Wwe Friday Night Smackdown - Broadcast 1 < 2025-2027 >

Before it became a weekly show, a one-off pilot aired to test the format.

Featured stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin , The Undertaker , and Mankind . WWE Friday Night Smackdown - Broadcast 1

Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock defeated The Undertaker and Triple H . Before it became a weekly show, a one-off

Triple H defeated The Rock to retain the WWF Championship. This match featured Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee, who famously "Sweet Chin Music'd" The Rock to cost him the title. Key Moments: Chris Jericho made his WWF in-ring debut. Triple H defeated The Rock to retain the WWF Championship

defeated Al Snow to win the Hardcore Championship.

This was the official launch of SmackDown! as a weekly series on the . Location: Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.

The show was created to compete directly with WCW’s Thursday night program, Thunder . 2. The Original Pilot (April 29, 1999)