1 year of WWE SmackDown on FOX: 3 positives and 2 negatives

#3 (Positive) SmackDown's ability to adapt to challenging circumstances

You heard it here first... @TripleH warns #Raw and #SmackDown because #WWENXT is coming for a BATTLE at #SurvivorSeries. pic.twitter.com/ZXDJNpbqOE

— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2019

WWE has had to face a multitude of challenges over the past year. Not only did the COVID-19 pandemic enforce some major changes, but another issue also threw the company a huge curveball less than a month into SmackDown being on FOX. Following the Crown Jewel pay-per-view, a lot of the roster was stuck in Saudi Arabia due to the much-publicized travel issues.

As a result, they missed the next night's episode of SmackDown. However, the Friday night show adapted pretty well to the changes with a compromised cast. The NXT roster was called upon to stage an invasion on the show and begin the "brand warfare" angle heading into Survivor Series.

Headlined by Adam Cole and Daniel Bryan for the NXT Championship, the November 1st episode of SmackDown was one of the best of this past year. Another entertaining episode under challenging circumstances came at the start of the 'Pandemic Era', as SmackDown was the first WWE show to take place without any fans in attendance.

Tonight was an effort that brought together everyone @WWE so we could go on air and entertain our most important constituency ... YOU. Thanks for letting me get my hands (and @MichaelCole’s facial hair) dirty!!! #ThankYou #Smackdown @WWEPC pic.twitter.com/HslV2or7El

— Triple H (@TripleH) March 14, 2020

That first episode from the Performance Center had a certain charm to it, largely thanks to Triple H, although the setting grew extremely tiresome over the next few months. Some of the most memorable episodes of SmackDown on FOX came at times when WWE's backs were against the wall.