How to watch WWE Smackdown via live stream and what to watch on the October 8th episode

The 2021 WWE Draft is in the books and tonight’s season premiere episode of Friday Night Smackdown from SAP Arena in San Jose will shift the company’s focus towards Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on October 21.

The centerpiece of tonight’s show will be the start of the King of the Ring tournament on the men’s side and the inaugural Queen’s Crown tournament on the women’s side. Superstars from both Raw and Smackdown will compete in the tournament over the next few weeks, with presumably the semifinals and finals taking place at Crown Jewel.

How to watch Friday Night Smackdown

Date: Friday, October 8
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Network: Fox
Live stream: FOX.com/live or Fox Now App

What to watch on Friday Night Smackdown

Before diving in, here’s the list of primary selections of the WWE Draft from the past week. Wrestlers not listed were assigned to a brand via a supplementary draft after both shows. The new rosters will go into effect in a few weeks after Crown Jewel.

Raw

WWE Champion Big E
Bianca Belair
Raw Tag Team Champions Randy Orton and Matt Riddle (RKBro)
Edge
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H.
Keith Lee
Rey and Dominik Mysterio
Austin Theory
Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch
Bobby Lashley (with MVP)
Seth Rollins
United States Champion Damian Priest
AJ Styles & Omos
Kevin Owens
The Street Profits
Finn Bálor
Karrion Kross
Alexa Bliss
Carmella
Gable Steveson

Smackdown

WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns
Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair
Drew McIntyre
New Day
Happy Corbin (with Madcap Moss)
Hit Row
Naomi
Jeff Hardy
Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Usos
Sasha Banks
Intercontinental Champion King Nakamura (with Rick Boogs)
Sheamus
Shayna Baszler
Xia Li
The Viking Raiders
Ricochet
Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo
Cesaro
Ridge Holland
Sami Zayn

Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, and Sasha Banks are on a collision course for a triple-threat Smackdown Women’s Championship battle for Crown Jewel so what other way to make that official than...yet another contract signing segment for tonight’s show? (sigh) The outcome for this match is intriguing considering that both Lynch and Belair are bound for Raw in a few weeks while Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair is heading to Smackdown. How will the top of the women’s division look on both shows at the end of the month?

Paul Heyman avoided the wrath of WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns with news that The Usos will be remaining on Smackdown. What will the Tribal Chief have to say as his match with Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel approaches. Also, we still haven’t seen Finn Balor since the ropes broke on him at Extreme Rules so we’ll probably getting the fallout from down.

Finally, the two aformentioned tournaments will kick off as Liv Morgan blows off her rivalry with Carmella and Rey Mysterio finishes off his rivalry with Sami Zayn.