London’s O2 Arena to host WWE SmackDown before Money in the Bank

WWE SmackDown is coming to London. 

WWE announced on Thursday that the Friday, June 30 episode will take place from the O2 Arena. The show will air at 8 PM local time on BT Sport, making it the first SmackDown to be broadcast live during primetime in the UK.

The following night WWE presents Money in the Bank from the same venue. 

WWE.com wrote:

Due to the incredible early response for Money In The Bank ticket pre-registrations at The O2 in London on Saturday, July 1, WWE today announced that SmackDown will also emanate from The O2 the night before – Friday, June 30.

From 2008 to 2019, WWE consistently ran annual episodes of both Raw and SmackDown from the O2 Arena. These would typically occur in April or May after WrestleMania. The last two shows WWE produced from the O2 were Raw on May 13, 2019, and SmackDown on May 14, 2019. 

WWE announced in January that London will host its first WWE pay-per-view in more than 20 years when Money in the Bank is held there on July 1, 2023. The last time a premium live event was held in the city was WWE Insurrextion in May 2002.