With Monday Night RAW set to move to Netflix in January 2025, theres been a lot of speculation about what changes are coming to WWEs programming. One of the biggest rumors? That Friday Night SmackDown could extend to a 3-hour show on the USA Network next year, but there is now clarification in that regard.
Reports from WrestleVotes Radio initially suggested that WWE was considering adding an extra hour to SmackDown to build on its success. They noted that the change would kick off with the January 3, 2025 episode of SmackDown, aligning with RAWs move to Netflix.
Not quite. According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer, WWE hasnt made any final decisions. He reported that WWE is still discussing the run time of both RAW and SmackDown starting in 2025, and nothing has been finalized at this point.
So, while theres talk of SmackDown becoming a 3-hour show, well have to wait and see what WWE decides as these conversations continue.
However, according to WrestleVotes Radio on their Backstage Pass Patreon page, after the six-month period, SmackDown is planned to return to its usual 2-hour format.
Fans have mixed feelings about this possible change. Some are excited about the idea of more SmackDown content each week, while others think keeping the show at 2 hours helps maintain a faster pace and tighter storytelling.
What are your thoughts on the possibility of Friday Night SmackDown extending to a 3-hour format? Do you think more content would enhance the show, or would it risk diluting the storytelling and pacing? Share your opinions in the comments!
