Those who believe WWE Friday Night SmackDown runs too long at three hours will be happy to know its runtime will soon be shortened to two hours.

It appears WWE will move SmackDown back to two hours on Friday, August 15, 2025. Dave Meltzer posted about this on X, formerly Twitter, citing a report from Variety.

“Variety reported The Rainmaker (having nothing to do with [Kazuchika] Okada) debuts on USA on 8/15 at 10 p.m.,” his post began. “That would indicate SmackDown goes back to two hours that night.”

Of course, SmackDown currently holds USA's 8-11 pm EST time slot every Friday. With The Rainmaker coming and presumably debuting new episodes every Friday at 10 pm, SmackDown will need to wrap up by then.

WWE has not confirmed the report. There is a chance they make the move sooner. Either way, it appears SmackDown will revert to its two-hour format by August 15 at the latest.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown's controversial three-hour runtime

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SmackDown moved to USA Network in October 2024 after spending the last five years on FOX. Monday Night RAW was gearing up for its move to Netflix in January 2025, and WWE moved its Friday night program to USA.

In early January, WWE made SmackDown a three-hour program on USA. That gave the show an extra hour of programming, but it is largely taken up by recaps and highlights from past shows. The extra hour could give other Superstars a chance to shine, but that is not what it has usually been used for.

Now, it will revert to its two-hour format. Hopefully, WWE will be able to regain their footing with the pacing of the show. We will have to see how they pivot once they lose the extra hour of programming.

Meanwhile, WWE has more leniency on Netflix with RAW. Unlike SmackDown, RAW does not have a strict broadcast slot. It begins at 8 pm EST every Monday Night, but it can end whenever WWE wants.