England World Cup game could cause WWE SmackDown taping headache
WWE recently announced a SmackDown taping at the O2 Arena in London on Tuesday, June 23rd. RAW will be taking place in the same venue the day prior, so from a logistical standpoint having the SmackDown taping the next day makes sense….right?
Unfortunately, the taping will happen around the time of the World Cup game between England and Ghana. The taping is expected to start at around 7pm, so likely ending around 9pm-9:30pm. The kickoff time for the England game is 9pm BST, so there will be a lot of fans who would have gone to the O2 that night with no questions asked having to make a decision that night.
There’s still a good chance that the show will sell well, but you can’t understate the importance of international football/soccer for fans in Europe, especially when England are up there as potential favorites to win the tournament just behind Spain and France. The Ghana game is the second in the group for Thomas Tuchel’s side, and whether or not England beat Croatia in their opener a few days prior, this will still be a crucial game that England fans can’t miss. Had this taping been at the same time as the England vs Panama game it would be a completely different story.
WWE SmackDown or England at the World Cup?
England haven’t won the World Cup since 1966, but that doesn’t stop the country getting full on World Cup fever every four years (and Euros fever in-between). Although it’s technically a school night, there are usually a big portion of families who go to WWE events like these live tapings…but it’s going to be a tough sell for fans who are also planning to watch the Three Lions.
The company will be heading to Sheffield the next night for a WWE Live Event. The exclusive presale for these shows starts on May 12 and General Sale starts May 14 at 10am BST.
Jake is an SEO-minded Football, Combat Sports, Gaming and Pro Wrestling writer, successful Editor in Chief, Sports SEO Coordinator for NationalWorld and SEO Writer for F4Wonline.com. He has more than ten years of experience covering mixed martial arts, pro wrestling, football and gaming across a number of publications, starting at SEScoops in 2012 under the name Jake Jeremy. His work has also been featured on Wrestling Headlines, Wrestlingnewsco, HotNewHipHop, The Hard Times and Sportskeeda.
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