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Latest Report On When Two-Hour WWE SmackDown Format Will Return

Three hour episodes of WWE Friday Night SmackDown are reportedly coming to an end in the near future.
Rick Ucchino|
WWE SmackDown
WWE SmackDown | WWE

The end appears to be near for three hour SmackDown broadcasts.

Multiple reports, including from insider X account WrestleVotes and the Wrestling Observer, indicate that just weeks remain on the extended programming agreement with the USA Network. Although, an exact date has not yet been nailed down.

On a recent episode of the Backstage Pass Podcast, WrestleVotes said that the three hour format will come to an end once the calendar flips to June. Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio then corroborated that report, saying he had heard of a similar timeline.

“I was told months ago that it’s essentially the end of May when it’s going to happen. So it’s going to be one of those weeks right around [June 6],” Meltzer said.

Friday Night SmackDown switched to the three hour format back on January 3rd, coinciding with the debut of Monday Night Raw on Netflix. WWE Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque later confirmed on the Pat McAfee Show that the Blue Brand would change back to a two hour program later in the year.

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The upcoming shift in formatting could explain why the rumored return of the annual WWE Draft has not yet taken place. WWE already increased the size of SmackDown's roster by utilizing a new transfer window, which gave the creative team more talent to help fill the additional hour of programming during WrestleMania season.

The return of the two hour format would allow WWE to reshape the Blue Brand to its traditionally smaller size at some point down the line.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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