Championship Match And Grudge Match Announced For First 3-Hour WWE Smackdown Next Week

Next week's three-hour episode of WWE Smackdown on the USA Network will be headlined by a WWE Women's Championship match between Nia Jax and Naomi.

This week on Smackdown, Naomi teamed up with Bianca Belair and Bayley to defeat Jax, Tiffany Stratton, and Candice LeRae. Naomi got the win for her team over LeRae and earned the title match. This will be Naomi's second time challenging Jax for the championship. She previously lost to Jax with the title on the line on an episode of Smackdown in November.

.@BiancaBelairWWE is looking at your crew, Nia Jax 🫵
#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/nqmF9xjav9
— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2024

Jax has been champion since defeating Bayley at SummerSlam. Throughout her run as champion, she's successfully defended the title against Bayley, Michin, and others.

The other announced match for next week's episode of Smackdown is a non-title match between Andrade and WWE United States Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura. That match was also made official on this week's episode of Smackdown.

.@AndradeElIdolo is looking for payback against @ShinsukeN 😤 #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/R1u77kGAS8
— WWE (@WWE) December 28, 2024

Nakamura beat LA Knight on the relaunched Saturday Night's Main Event earlier this month to win the United States Championship. He has yet to defend that title since winning it.

Smackdown has been a two-hour product for WWE since its inception. Next week it will begin its run as a three hour show on the USA Network. Raw will move to Netflix beginning on January 6.

The Latest On WWE, AEW & More

The Takedown On SI's 2024 Pro Wrestling Awards

WWE Rumors: Creative Team Rejecting Rumored Opponent for John Cena at WrestleMania 41

The 10 Best Women's Wrestling Matches Of 2024, Ranked

Cody Rhodes To Defend Title Against Kevin Owens At WWE Royal Rumble