It looks like everyone in WWE is getting a week off for the holidays

WWE Raw, SmackDown and NXT will all reportedly be pre-taped episodes between Dec. 19 and Dec. 25, giving talent and crew some time off.

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WWE famously has the most grueling, nonstop schedule of any wrestling promotion, but it’s talent and staff will get a well-deserved break during the 2023 holiday season.

Wrestling Observer has details on what WWE has planned for later this month, when there are no live events scheduled between Dec. 18 (when Raw will originate from Des Moines, Iowa) and Dec. 26 (a house show in Baltimore).

Here’s how this affects what you’ll see on TV later this month:

  • The Friday, Dec. 22 episode of SmackDown will be new but pre-taped, reportedly right after the live Dec. 15 episode of SmackDown in Green Bay.
  • The Christmas Day episode of Raw, while not confirmed as such by WWE, is expected to be a “Best of 2023” edition with highlights from throughout the year.
  • The Friday, Dec. 29 episode of SmackDown will also be pre-taped, though it is unclear when and where. According to the Observer, “The company has house shows scheduled in Toronto and Las Vegas that night and both are advertised as house shows.”

NXT talent and crew will also benefit from the same break, as the Tuesday, Dec. 19 episode of NXT will be taped at the WWE Performance Center later this week.

Last year, the Raw closest to Christmas (on Monday, Dec. 26) also turned out to be a “best of” show. However, some WWE talent and crew were still back to work that night, as the company put on two house shows on that date — including one at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Still, Fightful Select (subscription required) reported at the time that part of the reason for house shows over Raw was that they required much less of the production staff to work, giving more people some extra time off for the holidays. It appears WWE is taking that idea and expanding it even further this year, and wrestling fans can probably agree that’s a fantastic idea.