Just reading all the requests/mandates that Fox gave the WWE for Smackdown; Wanting their own roster, wanting a 2 person announce team, not wanting any authority figures, etc., would you say this is the first network that a WWE program was ever on that made so many demands? Was/Is USA like that for any of their shows? Hell, I would've thought that when Smackdown was on UPN, WB, MyNetwork, and SyFy, they were just glad to have had that show on their stations.
NBC completely overhauled the look and feel of WWF shows in general when they put them on Saturday nights. In fact, until the launch of SNME, we didn't get the brightly lit arena shows and multi-camera shoots that the WWF is now known for innovating.