WWE SmackDown’s time as a three hour show is coming to an end for now, as a new report reveals that a return to two hours is planned in for the Summer.
The Friday night offering moved to three hours earlier this year, having run an hour shorter during the period of July 4 and December 26, 2025.
A two-hour show when it was conceived in August 1999, WWE SmackDown would first expand to three hours on a weekly basis in January 2025 and it remained that way until July of last year.
This change back to two hours would be reversed again in January 2026 however, and the show has remained at three hours ever since.
Much like last year, it seems as if SmackDown will once again be losing an hour in the Summer, with Dave Meltzer stating on Wrestling Observer Radio, that the show’s move to two hours will be coming in late June or the first week in July, and it will remain at this runtime until switching back to three hours in January 2027.
According to Meltzer, SmackDown spending half the year at three hours and the latter half at two is the way their deal with USA Network is structured, saying:
“It’ll go either the last week of June or the first week in July, I believe it’s the first week of July.
“The contract that they have signed now is January until the end of June would be three hours, then the 1st July to the end of December would be two hours, so that’s the way the deal is structured right now.”
If you use this transcription or any portion of it, please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.
Bryan Alvarez would ask if the change is for the foreseeable future, with Meltzer confirming it’s a relatively long-term plan, saying:
“For the foreseeable future, yeah. Probably for the next four years.”
This follows Meltzer’s report from earlier this week which stated that the change in runtime would coincide with the second season of Braun Strowman’s Everything on the Menu series on USA Network, which does not yet have a confirmed release date.
WWE SmackDown has aired on USA Network since September 13 2024, and on Netflix in a number of international territories.
Shorter Show = Less Television Time
A move to two hours obviously means less screen time for WWE stars.
On the surface, it might feel like this means there’ll be less wrestling on SmackDown, but, realistically, televised shows, be they WWE, TNA Wrestling or AEW, are not exactly wall-to-wall in-ring action at the best of times.
A shorter running time means that fewer stars will get their moment to shine, just because there are only so many stories or matches that can be showcased on screen, regardless of how long or short a program is.
With WWE recently releasing a number of stars, many of whom were seen on television regularly, it may seem like this is less of a problem as the roster is a touch lighter than it was going into WrestleMania 42. That said, the landscape of Raw and SmackDown has changed, with stars moving brands and call-ups to the main roster adding to the on-screen offering.
This isn’t to say that the releases were in any way connected to the decision to move to two hours. It’s not like WWE SmackDown has always been a three-hour show, after all, but it could be argued that there are now fewer stars to focus upon, particularly when a decision was made to release the likes of the whole of Wyatt Sicks, a faction of five members who had been in a prominent feud with The MFTs prior to April 24.
What will be interesting is to see how WWE adapts to a two-hour SmackDown once again when it comes to balancing both in-ring action, promos, backstage interviews and other activities, along with, importantly, how the fans adapt to that very shift.
If you use this transcription or any portion of it, please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.
To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!
Comments.
Loading comments…