Reported Timeline on WWE SmackDown Moving Back to Two Hours

It was reported over the weekend that WWE was preparing for another Friday Night SmackDown format shuffle, but there's still a little bit of time before that will happen.

The insiders at BodySlam noted on Sunday that the USA Network has exclusive programming, including Everything on the Menu with former WWE Superstar Braun Strowman, that is slated to occupy that 10 p.m. ET (9 p.m. CT) time slot in the near future, which will require the Blue Brand to scale back down to two hours in length.

This is not the first time that SmackDown has fluctuated between a two and three-hour format, and according to the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, it won't be the last.

WWE SmackDown is set to switch formats multiple times over the next several years

"It's either the last week of June or the first week of July [when SmackDown switches back to two hours]," Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio. "The contract that they have signed now is January until the end of June would be three hours. Then the first of July to the end of December would be two hours. So that's the way the deal is structured right now... probably for the next four years."

Meltzer's cohost, Bryan Alvarez, noted the challenges of structuring a roster for a show that is constantly altering formats.

WWE currently has the SmackDown locker room set up for a three-hour production, but will likely have to make adjustments when the third hour falls by the wayside. The creative team will then have to adjust again when the third hour returns in early 2027. There was at least some speculation that last Friday's roster cuts were made with the upcoming format change in mind.

Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, WWE President Nick Khan and the talent relations department were tasked with trimming down the roster following WrestleMania 42, and a disproportionate number of SmackDown stars found themselves on the chopping block compared to those from Monday Night Raw.

11 members of the SmackDown roster were either released from their contract or told their contracts would not be renewed, including Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, the entire Wyatt Sicks and the Motor City Machine Guns. Kairi Sane and the injured Zoey Stark were the only Raw Superstars who were cut.

It should also be noted that the Blue Brand has added several superstars to the roster in the past week or so, including new WWE Women's Champion Rhea Ripley and WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Paige. Former NXT Women's Champion Jacy Jayne and the rest of Fatal Influence made their debut this past Friday night, with Ricky Saints and Blake Monroe arriving in the very near future.

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