Andrew Ravens
SmackDown‘s current three-hour format is coming to an end, and now there is a confirmed date.
Dave Meltzer revealed on Wrestling Observer Radio that June 26 marks the final three-hour SmackDown of this run. The show will revert to two hours following that episode before returning to the three-hour format in January.
“Three hours until the end of this month, June 26 is the last three-hour show,” Meltzer said. “The contract is six months on, six months off, so through June 26.”
The shift had been reported previously, with earlier coverage noting that the change would take place sometime during the summer. Now, we know when the shift will happen.
SmackDown moved to three hours as part of its current television arrangement. The Friday night show has aired on USA Network since returning to the channel in October 2024, ending a five-year run on Fox. The program debuted in April 1999 and has undergone several format and network changes over its run.
The June 26 episode will air from its standard Friday night timeslot before the two-hour format takes effect the following week. What makes this change interesting is the timing of it. WWE has a loaded schedule coming up, with Saturday Night’s Main Event and, eventually, SummerSlam on August 1 and August 2. Fans have been vocal about the format of the show for a year now.
Fans see that SmackDown is not equal to Raw in terms of its creative and storylines, despite having some of the biggest names on the roster. WWE will look to use the shorter version of the show as a revamp and hopefully get SmackDown back to where it used to be. WWE has yet to publicly comment on SmackDown’s reported format change, although it is expected to do so in the coming weeks.
