Note On Likely Plans For Smackdown Before WWE Night of Champions In Saudi Arabia

A new report has a bit of detail on the likely plan for how WWE will handle the episode of WWE Smackdown before Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia next month. As noted, WWE confirmed last week that Night of Champions 2026 is scheduled to take place on June 27th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, Nick Khan noted on an internal “town hall” call earlier this month that they are “monitoring” the situation due to the the US and Israel’s conflict with Iran.

Khan noted on the call that only Night of Champions will take place in the country and not Raw or Smackdown. WWE has in the past held Raw and Smackdown tapings alongside international PLEs in the same city when logistically possible.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the likely plan is to tape the pre-Night of Champions episode of WWE Smackdown, which airs on June 26th, in a back-to-back taping with the previous week’s episode in Kansas City at the T-Mobile Arena. Note that the key word there is “likely,” and this is not yet confirmed.

There has been no announcement on plans for the June 29th episode of WWE Raw. WWE’s events page currently lists dates all the way up to the June 22nd episode of WWE Raw at The O2 in London, as well as Night of Champions in Riyadh, but nothing after until Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 18th at Madison Square Garden in New York City.