Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: rolling loud, Smackdown, wrestling, wwe

WWE Smackdown to Air from Rolling Loud Rap Festival in Miami

Published Wed, 07 Jul 2021 13:07:14 -0500

WWE has announced that the July 23rd episode of WWE Smackdown will take place in Miami at the Rolling Loud rap festival, marking the first time the company has teamed with a major music festival. The collaboration absolves WWE of needing to sell tickets for Smackdown while lending an air of pop culture relevance to the beleaguered brand, which has suffered lower-than-ever television ratings during the coronavirus pandemic.

The official logo of WWE Smackdown

A press release explains:

WWE and Rolling Loud, the world's premier rap festival, today announced a new partnership that brings Friday Night SmackDown to Rolling Loud Miami 2021 on July 23. The occasion marks the first ever collaboration between WWE and a major music festival.

Gracing the same stage as festival headliners Travis Scott, Post Malone and A$AP Rocky, WWE Superstars will compete in matches live from Rolling Loud Miami. The July 23 edition of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX will feature a split-site broadcast with multiple matches at Rolling Loud Miami, and the remainder of the evening held at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.

Here's what some WWE executive whose name no one cares about had to say in the press release:

What Matt Zingler, Tariq Cherif and the entire Rolling Loud team have built is spectacular. We couldn't think of a better partner to deliver such a unique WWE experience to fans during the July 23 edition of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX.

Rolling Loud Co-Founder Tariq Cherif said:

I grew up on Sweet Chin Music, mesmerized by the spectacle that Vince McMahon and co have built at WWE. The idea of weaving our two storylines into one world, one must see event, is electrifying.

And fellow Co-Founder Matt Zingler added:

And I quote! If ya smell…what the WWE and Rolling Loud…is…cookin'! Give me a hell yeah!

That the Co-Founders of the music festival are apparently only familiar with the catchphrases of WWE Superstars from the 1990s isn't surprising, considering the company's decline in popularity since the fabled Attitude Era, but maybe teaming up with a major music festival will help gain the WWE Smackdown brand some relevance in 2021.

Here's some more info about the event:

Bringing 130 of the hottest acts in hip-hop to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., the sold out Rolling Loud Miami 2021 is a triumphant return for live rap music, and a coming out party for risers and new superstars eager to play in front of a festival crowd. The sixth Rolling Loud festival in Miami, where it started as a humble one-day event in Bayfront Park, Rolling Loud Miami 2021 will occur from July 23-25.

WWE Smackdown airs at 8PM Eastern on Fox.

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