WWE Rumors on Joe Hendry's Contract, 3-Hour SmackDown, Shinsuke Nakamura

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Hendry Reportedly Officially Signs with WWE

After making regular appearances on NXT as a member of the TNA roster, Joe Hendry is reportedly now officially signed to a WWE contract.

Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp reported the news Thursday night, and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) confirmed it Friday, noting that Hendry's TNA contract expired last week.

Meltzer added that it had "been known for months" that Hendry was WWE bound once he was free to sign with the company.

Hendry made his WWE debut on an episode of NXT last year as part of the official working relationship between TNA and WWE.

He went on to work numerous NXT shows, while also appearing in the 2025 men's Royal Rumble match as a surprise entrant and being the mystery opponent for Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41 earlier this year.

More recently, Hendry aligned with Thea Hail on NXT, and it was announced that Hendry and Hail will challenge Ethan Page and Chelsea Green for the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championships at NXT Gold Rush next week.

While it was initially thought Hendry would be doing that while still under a TNA contract, that is reportedly not the case, and he is now set to be an official, exclusive part of the WWE roster moving forward.

SmackDown Reportedly Returning to 3 Hours

WWE is reportedly set to add an extra hour to its weekly programming beginning in 2026.

According to WrestleVotes, SmackDown on USA Network will expand from two hours to three hours, starting with the Jan. 2, 2026, episode in Buffalo, New York.

SmackDown was a two-hour show for most of its existence until it ran for three hours from January through June of this year.

That coincided with USA Network losing Raw to Netflix. Since Raw had been a three-hour show for many years, SmackDown was expanded to three hours as a replacement.

However, SmackDown reverted to its usual two-hour format in July, and it has remained as such ever since.

Going back to three hours will give more Superstars a chance to shine, but it can also result in a more cumbersome show that is tougher for fans to consume.

WWE will have to strike a delicate balance and pace the shows in a way that keeps them interesting for fans from start to finish, which is something that proved difficult for much of the three-hour-Raw era.

Nakamura Reportedly Desired Tanahashi Retirement Match

Last week, it was announced that Hiroshi Tanahashi will have his retirement match against Kazuchika Okada, but another prominent Japanese wrestler reportedly had interest in the honor.

According to Meltzer (h/t WrestlePurists), a source indicated that Shinsuke Nakamura wanted to be Tanahashi's final opponent, noting that it was a topic of conversation within WWE.

While Nakamura was reportedly interested, it is unknown if WWE tried to work out a deal with NJPW before the decision was made for Okada to be Tanahashi's final opponent.

Nakamura and Tanahashi faced off on many occasions during their time together in NJPW, but not since 2016, as Nakamura signed with WWE that same year.

In 2023, WWE allowed Nakamura to face The Great Muta in one of Muta's last matches, but that bout took place in Pro Wrestling NOAH.

Doing Nakamura vs. Tanahashi in NJPW would have been a much more complicated situation since NJPW is partnered with AEW, which is WWE's chief rival.

Okada is an AEW wrestler after previously spending many years in NJPW, so setting up a match between Okada and Tanahashi was likely a far simpler process.

Tanahashi's retirement match is less than two months away, as he will clash with Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 20 on Jan. 4, 2026.