Why Is WWE Holding Smackville Special? + NXT Superstar Returns To Action

-WWE made a bit of news recently by announcing they would be airing a new WWE Network special, Smackville. The event is effectively an hour long chunk of an already scheduled SmackDown house show.

The special will feature two major matches. First, an Intercontinental Championship bout between new champion Shinsuke Nakamura and former champion Finn Balor. The other will be a WWE Championship triple threat match, with Kofi Kingston defending against Samoa Joe and Dolph Ziggler.

The more curious part of this all? Why is WWE doing such an event, and on such short notice?

Fightful has reported that this appears to be WWE doing a bit of a dress rehearsal to ensure that they can do this on a more regular basis. With All Elite ramping up, and with WWE having it’s own network, having these kinds of special live events is perhaps long overdue.

WWE has run some specials in the past, but perhaps the airing of Smackville is a sign things are going to be changing moving forward.

-NXT has always been a place for Superstars to blossom. One such name was blossoming and poised to do great things before suffering a knee injury that derailed his progress.

However, that progress may be about to get back on track.

Dominik Dijakovic returned, a bit ahead of schedule, from a torn meniscus over the weekend at an NXT event in Florida.

Getting the big man back couldn’t come at a better time for NXT. The brand has seen a lot of talent move to the main roster in the last several months, and more could be poised to move on in the next couple months.

Getting a talented Superstar like Dijakovic back now could allow for some interesting feuds over the next few months-and beyond.