WWE Reverses Major Decision On SmackDown (But It Might Be For The Best)

WWE is always making shifts to its programming, though that is especially true over the past year. WWE’s Monday Night Raw previously moved to streaming only on Netflix, and then the show changed its runtime from 3 hours to 2 and a half. NXT would move to The CW and begin a major effort to feature its stars across the network. As for SmackDown, the show has undergone a few different changes, but one of the more recent changes has been reversed, and it might just end up being for the better.

WWE got fans buzzing when it initially changed SmackDown from its long-running runtime of 2 hours to 3 hours, which seemed like a move to balance things out compared to Raw. After a host of shows in that new 3-hour format, a host of fans didn’t love that SmackDown had as long a runtime as Raw, and those fans were delighted to find out that WWE was changing the show back to its 2-hour format. Well, now it seems WWE has had another change of heart, as WrestleVotes is reporting that WWE has now made SmackDown 3 hours once more, and it will begin on January 2nd.

That’s relatively unexpected news, but perhaps it shouldn’t be, and it might actually turn out to be a welcome change. While there were plenty who had issues with SmackDown being 3 hours long, and to be fair, there were segments that seemed like filler, the extended runtime does allow for SmackDown to feature more of its talented roster, and there are superstars and Titles that are being completely ignored at the moment who could benefit from some additional runtime.

Giulia’s entire Women’s United States Championship reign felt like it drew the short straw, and even when Giulia did make TV, the matches were pretty quick to keep to the 2-hour time constraint. Likewise, The Wyatt Sicks have all but disappeared from TV aside from a few random appearances here and there, and they could certainly use some programming tweaks.

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This issue will only get worse when several injured Superstars return to the ring or superstars who are merely taking some time away make their awaited returns. Names like Roman Reigns, Jacob Fatu, Piper Niven, and Elton Prince are all likely going to be back in the mix early next year, and Reigns could be back any day now, so having an extra hour to feature talents and extend shorter matches will likely be more beneficial than it is a hindrance.

There’s also an argument to be made that the 3-hour episodes of SmackDown were overall better than the 2-hour episodes that have followed. Granted, Raw’s 2 and a half hour format is probably the sweet spot, but with more time to breathe and having more episodes to serve as a direct comparison, the move to 3 hours again might actually be the best thing to get SmackDown back on track.

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