WWE Making Big Changes to Taping Schedule Again, No Longer Live Each Week

WWE has changed their taping schedule again. Last Friday, Vince McMahon made the decision to air Raw, SmackDown and NXT live each week, requiring several wrestlers to travel to Florida weekly during a global pandemic.

Here’s the new taping schedule, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet‘s Ryan Satin, who says that the schedule was confirmed by a WWE rep.

Raw

• Monday, April 20: Raw will air live
• Monday, April 27: Two episodes of Raw will be taped (one for that night, the other for May 4)
• Monday, May 11: One episode of Raw will be taped for that night and one episode of SmackDown will be taped for May 15
• Tuesday, May 12: One episode of Raw will be taped for May 18 and one episode of SmackDown will be taped for May 22
• Monday, May 25: Two episodes of Raw will be taped (one for that night, the other for June 1)
• Monday, June 8: One episode of Raw will be taped for that night and one episode of SmackDown will be taped for June 12
• Monday, June 15: One episode of Raw will be taped for that night and one episode of SmackDown will be taped for June 19
• Tuesday, June 16: One episode of Raw will be taped for June 22 and one episode of SmackDown will be taped for June 26
• Monday, June 29: Two episodes of Raw will be taped (one for that night, the other for July 6)

SmackDown

• Friday, April 17: SmackDown will air live
• Friday, April 24: SmackDown will air live
• Saturday, April 25: Two episodes of SmackDown will be taped (airing May 1 and May 8)
• Monday, May 11: One episode of Raw will be taped for that night and one episode of SmackDown will be taped for May 15
• Tuesday, May 12: One episode of Raw will be taped for May 18 and one episode of SmackDown will be taped for May 22
• Tuesday, May 26: Two episodes of SmackDown will be taped (airing May 29 and June 5)
• Monday, June 8: One episode of Raw will be taped for that night and one episode of SmackDown will be taped for June 12
• Monday, June 15: One episode of Raw will be taped for that night and one episode of SmackDown will be taped for June 19
• Tuesday, June 16: One episode of Raw will be taped for June 22 and one episode of SmackDown will be taped for June 26
• Tuesday, June 30: Two episodes of SmackDown will be taped (airing July 3 and July 10)

NXT

• Wednesday, April 22: NXT will air live
• Wednesday, April 29: Two episodes of NXT will be taped (one for that night, the other for May 6)
• Wednesday, May 13: Two episodes of NXT will be taped (one for that night, the other for May 20)
• Wednesday, May 27: Two episodes of NXT will be taped (one for that night, the other for June 3)
• Tuesday, June 9: One episode of NXT will be taped for June 10
• Wednesday, June 17: Two episodes of NXT will be taped (one for that night, the other for June 24)
• Wednesday, July 1: Two episodes of NXT will be taped (one for that night, the other for July 8)

There was speculation that WWE’s TV contracts may have been a reason for Vince’s decision to go live each week since the contracts only technically allow for a small number (three for USA) of shows to be taped each year. It’s not clear if anything changed or if that’s no longer an issue.