Last Friday night, WWE SmackDown officially entered a new era by reverting to a three-hour format on the USA Network. However, this change may not be permanent, and the show could switch back to a two-hour format before the end of the year.
Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com mentioned on The Bryan and Vinny Show that while SmackDown returned to a three-hour format starting January 2, 2026, sources have indicated that this change is temporary. Alvarez also noted that when WWE announced the move back to a three-hour format, he was informed it would likely follow the same model as 2025, where the show would be three hours for the first half of the year and revert to two hours later on.
Alvarez explained that the reason for this potential change is related to the network; USA Network may want to use SmackDown as a lead-in for another program in the latter half of the year, similar to how “Everything On The Menu with Braun Strowman” previously aired after it. If this happens, WWE SmackDown would likely need to scale back to two hours to accommodate the additional programming.
