New Year’s Day 2027 will be a historic day in the world of professional wrestling as WWE SmackDown and AEW Dynamite will face each other for the first time. It was recently announced that All Elite Wrestling will take place Dynamite’s annual New Year’s Smash edition on Friday, January 1st meaning AEW’s flagship show will face off against a taped episode of SmackDown that will air on the same night.
Although WWE’s efforts to counter-program AEW and going out of their way to load shows that conflict with AEW shows, it doesn’t seem like the company is going to make any special arrangements for the New Year. By: WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful SelectWWE has no plans to reschedule the late 2026 taping and has no plans to air SmackDown vs. Dynamite live, and will instead hold the taped episode, which will air Dec. 28 at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida, immediately following the final episode of “W202 Raw.”
According to WWE sources, the main reason for this is that it allows talent to take New Year’s off to enjoy the festivities with friends and family, and regardless of what AEW may have planned to start the new year, WWE is not going to change their schedule just to try to beat Dynamite in the ratings. The ratings for that New Year’s episode of SmackDown have been debated internally, and some in WWE believe it will actually draw lower ratings than usual, even without the AEW competition, mainly because it still airs in and around the holiday season. However, the fact that WWE isn’t going to change its schedule is a sure sign that the show will surpass “Dynamite” in the ratings, even with lower-than-usual viewership.
