SmackDown’s Move Back to Two Hours Gets Clarified Timeline

After months of debate, WWE is officially dialing back Friday Night SmackDown to a two-hour show. While earlier speculation pointed to an August shift, it turns out the blue brand is trimming the fat starting with the July 4 episode—well ahead of schedule.

On the June 19 episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer clarified the SmackDown timeline and how WWE is planning the change. He confirmed that while the three-hour format will officially end on August 15 to make way for “The Rainmaker” show at 10 PM, WWE will air a two-hour SmackDown on July 4 as part of a special double taping.

“The July 4th SmackDown, which is being taped in Pittsburgh on the Monday before, on June 30th, that we’re being told is a two-hour show.”

Bryan Alvarez asked for confirmation on whether both RAW and SmackDown would be taped on the same day.

“So the July 4th show is a taped show. They’re taping a RAW and a SmackDown on Monday?”

Meltzer confirmed WWE’s game plan and detailed how the taping will work.

“Right. And they’re gonna tape RAW. So RAW will not be live. RAW will be taped from 6 to 8:30, but air from 8 to 10:30 Eastern Time. And then they will tape SmackDown probably about 8:45-ish, and do a two-hour show, which they can probably do in about an hour and a half, by just eliminating the backstage segments and obviously the commercial time. So they can get the show over by 10:15, 10:30, which is a reasonable time.”

As for the weeks in between July 11 and August 8? Meltzer said it’s still a mystery.

“As far as between June 11 and August 8, those four shows, I have not gotten anything clear. I just haven’t gotten an answer on that. I asked.”

So while SmackDown’s official return to two hours is August 15, WWE fans will get a sneak peek of the shorter format with the July 4 episode. That show—pre-taped on June 30 alongside RAW—will mark a temporary return to a leaner, more focused product… at least for the night.

WWE pulling back from the three-hour experiment might be the reset SmackDown needs.

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