Update On AEW Dynamite Going Head-To-Head With WWE Smackdown On New Year’s Day

AEW Dynamite will air on New Year’s Day against WWE SmackDown, and a new report has an update on WWE’s plans for the matter. As announced late last week, AEW is presenting its New Year’s Smash episodes of Dynamite and Collision on Friday, January 1st and Saturday, January 2nd instead of the usual Wednesday and Saturday.

That, of course, will pit Dynamite against WWE Smackdown. WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select reports that a source in WWE has indicated that the company is not changing its taping schedule, which called for the New Year’s Day episode of WWE Smackdown to be taped on December 28th alongside a live episode of Raw. The source noted that WWE intends to stick to that plan regardless of AEW’s plans, which means that the AEW Dynamite episode will be up against a taped Smackdown.

It was added that there is internal speculation that the holiday episode of Smackdown would likely draw a lower number than the usual live broadcast could be, whether it was going up against a live episode of AEW Dynamite or not.

The New Year’s Smash episode of AEW Dynamite is taking place at the Gateway Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Meanwhile, the Raw & Smackdown taping on December 28th is at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.