WWE is set to make a significant schedule change next week. The August 24 RAW at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario will be followed by a SmackDown taping.
RAW will start at 6 PM ET, two hours earlier than its usual time slot. Once the live Netflix broadcast wraps, WWE will tape the SmackDown episode set to air on August 28.
The reason for the change has now come to light. According to Fightful Select, an internal WWE source said the move was made to give the roster and crew a short breather after the demanding summer schedule and ahead of upcoming international tours, particularly the South American swing.
SuplexInsider @SuplexInsider Follow The reason WWE are taping SmackDown after #WWERaw next week.
a source within the company who claimed it was to give the roster and staff a little time off after the Summer, before they head to the South American tour.
(Fightful)
1:52 AM · Aug 18, 2026WWE will run another double taping on August 28 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. This time, SmackDown will air on its regular Friday slot, and the August 31 episode of RAW will be taped afterward.
Days later, WWE will kick off its South American tour. The run opens in Quito, Ecuador on September 9, followed by Bogotá on September 10, Buenos Aires on September 11, and Santiago on September 12.
The tour will mark WWE’s first visit to Ecuador in ten years and a return to Colombia, Argentina, and Chile after a seven-year absence.