The spectacular WWE Smackdown show will be shown free-to-air on YouTube giving UK fans unrestricted access to their favourite superstars.

The announcement was made after the wrestling juggernaut was left with a gap in the broadcast market. As fans are aware, January 6, 2025 will be a big day for Netflix as Raw will be broadcast live on the streaming platform worldwide. Fans all over the world will also get to enjoy the full World Wrestling Entertainment experience with SmackDown, NXT and Premium Live Events as part of their subscription. It does mean, however, that Europeans will have one up on their neighbours across the Atlantic who will only be able to enjoy Raw on the streaming platform. In the US, WWE’s deal with Peacock extends into 2026, meaning that all content besides Raw will remain on NBC’s streaming service at least until then.

But with the international Netflix deals beginning on January 1, no WWE content will appear until the first Raw on January 6 meaning that the company has had to find a one-night home for SmackDown on January 3. And in an exciting development for UK fans, Dave Meltzer revealed on Wrestling Observer Radio that video uploading platform YouTube has come to save the day.

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He said: “So it’s one of those weird things where the way the contracts end and start. There’s a gap, which is actually only one show but Canada, UK, most of the world. I think the exceptions would be US, Germany is an exception, Philippines is an exception. But almost everywhere, the contracts, the television deals, end at the end of this year.

"Netflix picks up on January 6th. So there’s a January 3rd SmackDown show that airs [on Netflix] everywhere but the United States, pretty much. And like I said, United States and Germany and Philippines, and just about anywhere, there may be one or two other countries too, but it just kind of falls in the cracks.

"So in all those countries. WWE will be putting the SmackDown show up on YouTube that week. So that’s basically the situation there. Netflix will start with Raw on the 6th, NXT on the 7th, and SmackDown on the 10th, outside the United States pretty much all over the world. So that’s the situation. That date just kind of fell through in the middle.”