This is a list of on-air personalities from the professional wrestling television series WWE's SmackDown. On-air personalities include the wrestlers themselves, ring announcers, commentators, and on-screen authority figures. The show also features recurring on-air segments hosted by various personalities.
See main article: Professional wrestling authority figures.
| Authority figures | Position | Date started | Date finished | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. McMahon | Owner, chairman, and CEO | McMahon assigned new general managers to Raw and to SmackDown after Ric Flair lost his position on Raw. Stacy Keibler served as "personal assistant" through McMahon's term. | |||
| Shawn Michaels | Commissioner | Relinquished role to Mick Foley | |||
| Mick Foley | Commissioner | Fired by Mr. McMahon | |||
| Debra | Lt. Commissioner | Resigned as Lieutenant Commissioner to pursue managing again. | |||
| William Regal | Commissioner | Fired by Linda McMahon for joining The Alliance | |||
| Mick Foley | Commissioner | Decided to leave the company | |||
| Ric Flair | On-screen co-owner of the company | Upon the beginning of the brand extension, McMahon was given sole control of SmackDown, while Flair was given control of Raw. Between November 2001 and the brand extension, Flair had as much power over all shows as McMahon. | |||
| Stephanie McMahon | General manager | Lost her position as per an "I Quit" match stipulation against Mr. McMahon at No Mercy. | |||
| Paul Heyman | General manager | Resigned after being drafted to Raw, he didn't want to work for Eric Bischoff and quit WWE, he was interim general manager on the April 22, 2004 edition of WWE SmackDown. | |||
| Kurt Angle | General manager | Returned to the active roster when no longer confined to a wheelchair. | |||
| Theodore Long | General manager | Left position due to health complications. Served as "Assistant General Manager" from November 2007 to May 2008. Long was reassigned from ECW to SmackDown. Lost the position to John Laurinaitis as a result of the Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy match at Wrestlemania XXVIII. | |||
| Vickie Guerrero | General manager | July 19, 2013 | June 23, 2014 | Served as assistant general manager from May to September 2007. Opted to fully take over the position on Raw and resigned as general manager of SmackDown. Took over in place of the injured Teddy Long. Announced new general manager of SmackDown on July 19, 2013 by Mr. McMahon; lost position on June 23, 2014 edition of Raw in a match against Stephanie McMahon. | |
| Big Show | Temporary General Manager | Big Show filled in for Vickie Guerrero while she recovered from being tombstoned by The Undertaker. | |||
| Triple H | Chief Operating Officer (Storyline) | The board of directors removed Vince McMahon from day-to-day power and handed the duties to his son-in-law. However, his authoritative control powers as general manager of running SmackDown are no longer needed and still remained as COO (see below). Lost position in November 2014 after The Authority lost at Survivor Series. Triple H also served as executive vice-president of Talent, Live Events and Creative. | |||
| John Laurinaitis | General manager | Won position, Team Johnny vs Team Teddy at Wrestlemania XXVIII. Fired at No Way Out by Mr. McMahon as per pre-match stipulation when John Cena defeated Big Show in a Steel cage match. | |||
| Interim General Managers | Guest GM | Following Laurinaitis' firing, the board of directors invited past GMs and commissioners to run SmackDown on a weekly basis until a new full-time GM was named, such as Mick Foley, Vickie Guerrero and Zack Ryder. | |||
| Booker T | General manager | July 12, 2013 | Mr. McMahon announced Booker T as the new general manager of SmackDown. | ||
| Theodore Long | Senior Advisor | July 12, 2013 | Was named Booker's advisor after he asked for his help. Served as general manager during Booker's injury. | ||
| Eve Torres | Assistant to general manager | Won the position in a match against Kaitlyn. Left position after she quit WWE. | |||
| Kane | Director of operations | Lost position after The Authority lost at Survivor Series. | |||
| Triple H | Chief Operating Officer (Storyline) | 2019 | Stephanie McMahon announced that Triple H would return to the WWE as the COO. | ||
| Commissioner | Lost a Loser Leaves WWE Ladder match to Kevin Owens. | ||||
| Daniel Bryan | General manager | Shane assigned Bryan as his general manager. | |||
| Paige | General manager | Shane assigned Paige as general manager after Bryan resigned from the position to return to in-ring action. After the announcement on the December 17, 2018 edition of Raw that the McMahons (Vince, Stephanie, Shane, and Triple H) were, as a united group, taking over both Raw and SmackDown, Paige was effectively removed as general manager. | |||
| Sonya Deville | WWE Official | Began appearing as the assistant to on-screen authority figure Adam Pearce on the January 1, 2021 edition of SmackDown, later appearing on the Raw brand in the same role. Deville eventually began making questionable and blatantly self-serving decisions which led to Pearce terminating her contract as a WWE Official on the May 9, 2022 edition of Raw.[1] | |||
| Adam Pearce | WWE Official | From January 2020 through October 2023, Pearce served as the main on-screen WWE Authority Figure for Raw and Smackdown, making the vast majority of the matches and presiding over issues needing resolution from management. In October 2023, he was appointed General Manager of Raw. | |||
| Nick Aldis | General manager | Present | On the season premiere of WWE SmackDown, Triple H presented Aldis as the general manager of WWE SmackDown. | ||
| Commentators | Dates | |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Cole and Jim Cornette | (Pilot) | |
| Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler | (Network Premiere) | |
| Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler | – – – | |
| Michael Cole and Michael Hayes | ||
| Michael Cole and Tazz | – – – – – – – – | |
| Michael Cole and Jim Ross | – – | |
| Scott Hudson and Arn Anderson | ||
| Jim Ross and Paul Heyman | (Live 9/11 Tribute Show) | |
| Michael Cole and Paul Heyman | – | |
| Michael Cole and Ernest Miller | ||
| Michael Cole and John "Bradshaw" Layfield | – – – – | |
| Michael Cole and Jonathan Coachman | – | |
| Michael Cole and Mick Foley | – | |
| Jim Ross and Mick Foley | – | |
| Jim Ross and Tazz | – | |
| Jim Ross and Todd Grisham | – | |
| Todd Grisham and Michael Cole | ||
| Todd Grisham and Matt Striker | – | |
| Todd Grisham, Michael Cole, and Matt Striker | – | |
| Josh Mathews, Michael Cole, and Matt Striker | – | |
| Josh Mathews and Matt Striker | ||
| Michael Cole and Booker T | ||
| Josh Mathews, Michael Cole, and Booker T | – – – – | |
| Michael Cole and various guest commentators | ||
| Josh Mathews and Michael Cole | – – – | |
| Michael Cole, Josh Mathews, and Jerry Lawler | ||
| Michael Cole, Josh Mathews, and Brad Maddox | – | |
| Josh Mathews and Jerry Lawler | ||
| Michael Cole, Josh Mathews, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield | – – | |
| Michael Cole and Alex Riley | ||
| Michael Cole, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, and The Miz | ||
| Josh Mathews and John "Bradshaw" Layfield | – | |
| Tom Phillips and Michael Cole | ||
| Tom Phillips, Michael Cole, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield[2] | – – | |
| Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Byron Saxton[3] | – | |
| Tom Phillips, Jerry Lawler, and Byron Saxton | – – | |
| Tom Phillips, Jerry Lawler, and Jimmy Uso | – – | |
| Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, and Jimmy Uso | ||
| Rich Brennan, Jerry Lawler, and Jimmy Uso | – | |
| Rich Brennan, Jerry Lawler, and Booker T | – | |
| Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Booker T | ||
| Mauro Ranallo and Jerry Lawler | ||
| Mauro Ranallo, Jerry Lawler, and Byron Saxton | – – – | |
| Mauro Ranallo, Byron Saxton, and David Otunga | – | |
| Mauro Ranallo, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Byron Saxton | ||
| Mauro Ranallo, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, and David Otunga | – | |
| Mauro Ranallo, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, David Otunga, and Tom Phillips | – | |
| Tom Phillips and John "Bradshaw" Layfield | ||
| Tom Phillips, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, and David Otunga | – | |
| Tom Phillips, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, and Byron Saxton | – | |
| Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton | – – – – – | |
| Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton | – | |
| Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, and David Otunga | ||
| Tom Phillips, David Otunga, Big E, and Xavier Woods | ||
| Tom Phillips, Michael Cole, and David Otunga | ||
| Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, and David Otunga | ||
| Michael Cole and Corey Graves | – – – – | |
| Tom Phillips, Renee Young, and Aiden English | ||
| Tom Phillips, Renee Young, and Pat McAfee | ||
| Michael Cole and Triple H | ||
| Michael Cole | – | |
| Michael Cole and Pat McAfee | – – – – | |
| Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Kevin Owens | ||
| Michael Cole and Wade Barrett | – | |
| Kevin Patrick, Michael Cole, and Corey Graves | – – – | |
| Kevin Patrick, Michael Cole, and Kevin Owens | ||
| Kevin Patrick, Michael Cole, and Road Dogg | ||
| Kevin Patrick, Michael Cole, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield | ||
| Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves | – | |
| Corey Graves and Wade Barrett | – present |
| Commentator |
|---|
| Theodore Long |
| Kaitlyn |
| Cody Rhodes |
| The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) |
| Sheamus |
| Ring announcers | Dates | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Chimel | – – – – – – – – – – – | Transferred to the ECW brand in August 2007. Transferred back to Smackdown following Lilian Garcia's first retirement from WWE. Removed on December 2, 2011. Filled in from November 2, 2012 to November 30, 2012 while Garcia was on medical leave after a car accident. Was ring announcer for one night as Garcia had gone to WrestleMania Axxess, with various other SmackDown workers. Continued to make occasional appearances as Edge's personal ring announcer. Made a one-night return on November 15, 2013 to fill in for Garcia, who was unavailable at the time. | |
| Lilian Garcia | – – – – | Returned to WWE to take over for Tony Chimel. Made a one-night appearance on November 5, 2015. Substituted for Chimel on certain nights between 1999 and 2004. | |
| Howard Finkel | Filled in for Chimel except December 27, 2001, when Finkel and Chimel served as co-announcers. | ||
| Justin Roberts | – | Transferred to the Raw brand following Lilian Garcia's retirement from WWE. Made one-night appearances on December 10, 2010, March 11 and September 16, 2011. | |
| Josh Mathews | One night only. | ||
| Eden Stiles | – | Stiles served as the dual-branded ring announcer for WWE Superstars and substitute ring announcer for both shows until December 22, 2011 when she left WWE. Stiles became the permanent ring announcer after Lilian Garcia returned to Raw on October 20, 2014. On May 24, 2016 during SmackDown tapings, Stiles was released by WWE after she requested for her release. | |
| JoJo | – – – – | Served as interim ring announcer while continuing her role as a dual-branded backstage interviewer, but did not do the latter on the selected dates she does ring announcing for SmackDown. Replaced Eden Stiles who was released by WWE. Moved to Raw following Lilian Garcia's second departure due to family emergency. | |
| Greg Hamilton | – – | Filled in for JoJo when she worked WWE's tour in Hawaii and when she filled in for Lilian Garcia on Raw during that same week. Promoted to full-time announcer when JoJo was moved to Raw. Hamilton was released in late October 2021. | |
| Kayla Braxton | One night only. | ||
| Mike Rome | – – – – | Substitute for Greg Hamilton. Following Hamilton's release in October 2021, Rome became the interim ring announcer for SmackDown and became dual-branded as a result. Became SmackDown ring announcer in May 2023 as part of the WWE Draft, switching roles with Samantha Irvin. Switched to NXT in May 2024, though filled in for Alicia Taylor on May 24 and July 5. | |
| Samantha Irvin | – | Promoted to the SmackDown brand on January 14, 2022 from 205 Live. Switched to Raw in May 2023 as part of the WWE Draft. Filled in for shows when Rome and Taylor were unavailable. | |
| Alicia Taylor | – – Present | Filled in for Rome for three episodes in 2023, two of which were taped together due to WWE traveling to Saudi Arabia. NXT Senior Vice President Shawn Michaels announced on X after NXT aired on May 7, 2024 that Alicia Taylor had joined SmackDown brand. |
| Segments | Hosts | Years | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piper's Pit | Roddy Piper | 2003 2005 – 2006 2010 2012 2014 | In-ring interview segment.[9] Discontinued after Piper's death in 2015. | |
| $1,000,000 Tough Enough | Al Snow | 2004 | WWE Tough Enough competition segment. | |
| Kurt Angle Invitational | Kurt Angle | 2004 – 2005 | Three-minute match challenge for Angle's gold medal. Discontinued after Angle was drafted to Raw. | |
| Cafe de René | René Duprée | 2004 | In-ring interview segment. | |
| Carlito's Cabana | Carlito | 2005 2008 – 2009 | In-ring interview segment. Discontinued after Carlito was drafted to Raw. | |
| Peep Show | Christian | 2005 2010 – 2014 | In ring interview segment. | |
| Diva Search | The Miz | 2006 | Diva Search competition segment. | |
| Miz TV | The Miz | 2007 2012 – 2017 2018 – 2019 2019 – 2020 | In-ring interview segment. | |
| Masterlock Challenge | Chris Masters | 2007 2010 – 2011 | Submission challenge to break Masters' Masterlock hold. Discontinued after being drafted to Raw. | |
| The Cutting Edge | Edge | 2007 – 2011 2013 2016 | In-ring interview segment. Discontinued after Edge was forced to retire from professional wrestling. Occasionally makes a couple appearances. | |
| VIP Lounge | Montel Vontavious Porter | 2007 – 20102020 | In-ring interview segment. Discontinued following MVP's release from WWE. Restarted during build to WrestleMania 36 | |
| Khali Kiss Cam | The Great Khali Ranjin Singh | 2011 | In-ring fan interaction segment. Khali kisses a female member of the audience. First person to keep show after changing brands.[10] | |
| Highlight Reel | Chris Jericho Kevin Owens | 2010 2012 2013 20162017 – 2018 | In-ring interview segment. Discontinued after Jericho was drafted to Raw. Began again when Jericho returned in 2013. Discontinued again when Jericho was drafted to the Raw brand when WWE re-introduced the brand extension in 2016. Re-introduced by Kevin Owens in 2017 without Chris Jericho. Discontinued after Owens was fired and drafted to Raw. | |
| Grooming Tips | Cody Rhodes | 2010 – 2011 | Cody Rhodes gives some vanity tips. Discontinued after Rhodes' facial injury (*caused by the exposed metal brace of Rey Mysterio). | |
| Str8 Outta Brooklyn With JTG | JTG | 2010 – 2011 | Backstage shoot segment. Discontinued after JTG was drafted to Raw. | |
| The Ambrose Asylum | Dean Ambrose | 2016 – 2017 | In-ring interview segment. Discontinued after being drafted to Raw. | |
| King's Court | Jerry Lawler | 2017 | In-ring interview segment. | |
| The Fashion Files (later The Fashion X Files, then Fashion Peaks) | Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) | 2017 – 2018 | Video segment. Discontinued after Breezeango was drafted to Raw. | |
| U. S. Open Challenge | Kevin Owens A.J. Styles Bobby Roode Jeff Hardy R-Truth | 2017-2018, 2019 | A United States Championship match challenge pitting anyone on the roster against the incumbent champion of the time. Originally called the Face of America challenge under Kevin Owens, it has been held under four different champions. After A.J. Styles won, it was renamed the U.S. Open Challenge, but was discontinued after Hell in a Cell after Baron Corbin won the championship. It was revived in 2018 after Bobby Roode won the aforementioned championship. It was revived in 2019 after R-Truth won the aforementioned championship. Under Styles, Roode and Truth's reigns, their names were included in the official title of the U.S. Open Challenge title. Discontinued after then-United States Champion Samoa Joe was drafted to Raw. | |
| Truth TV | R-Truth Carmella | 2018–2019 | In-ring interview segment. Discontinued after R-Truth was drafted to Raw. | |
| The Kevin Owens Show | Kevin Owens | 2019 2020 – 2021 2023 – present | In-ring interview segment. Discontinued after Owens was drafted to Raw. Returned after Owens was drafted to SmackDown. | |
| Firefly Fun House | Bray Wyatt | 2019 – 2020 | Video segment. Discontinued after Wyatt was drafted to Raw. | |
| A Moment of Bliss | Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross | 2019 – 2020 | On-stage interview segment. Discontinued after Bliss and Cross were drafted to Raw. | |
| The Dirt Sheet | John Morrison and The Miz | 2020 | In-ring interview segment. Discontinued after Morrison and Miz were drafted to Raw. | |
| Ding Dong, Hello! | Bayley | 2021 | In-ring interview segment. Discontinued after Bayley was injured and taking time off. | |
| Happy Talk | Happy Corbin and formerly Madcap Moss | 2021 – 2022 | In-ring interview segment. | |
| InZayn | Sami Zayn | 2022 | In-ring stunt challenge segment. Later became an in-ring interview segment. | |
| Tribal Court | The Usos | 2023 | In-ring courtroom segment. | |
| The Grayson Waller Effect | Grayson Waller | 2023 – present | In-ring interview segment. | |
| R-KO Show | Randy Orton and Kevin Owens | 2024 - present | In-ring interview segment. |