WWE's Massive Problem with SmackDown Returning to 3 Hours
After the less-than-stellar state SmackDown found itself in for the better part of 2025, moving the show back to three hours at the onset of 2026 was hardly the correct course of action.
The first episode of the new year featured multiple returns, debuts, a championship changing hands and even an Ambulance match. However, doing that sort of stuff every week isn't sustainable, and SmackDown will soon suffer from a lot of the problems it was plagued by last year.
That includes a stunning lack of interesting storylines, a fairly formulaic main event scene, and a women's division that has been running on fumes for many months, among other issues.
The length of SmackDown was never what was holding the blue brand back from being better. Rather, creative stagnation has been the leading reason for many fans becoming disenchanted with the program, especially compared to the consistent quality Raw has had since debuting on Netflix.
WWE is extremely capable of turning SmackDown around and making it a must-see show on Friday nights again, but being complacent with the extra ad revenue the third hour will presumably bring in isn't going to help matters in the slightest.
The three-hour experiment could ultimately end up being temporary as it was the last time, but the key is ensuring irreparable damage isn't done before then and not making the same mistakes from a year ago.
WWE Previously Proved 3-Hour Runtime Isn't Suitable for SmackDown
1 of 5
It was one year ago that SmackDown adopted a three-hour format for the first time ever in the show's 25-plus-year history. It coincided with the blue brand's move to USA Network from Fox along with Raw leaving USA for Netflix.
Fans didn't have high hopes for the experiment, but even after giving it a chance for a few months, it was painfully apparent that SmackDown was worse off as a three-hour show and a return to two hours was needed.
SmackDown went back to a two-hour format starting in the second half of 2025, and although the overall creative direction of the show wasn't super-strong, it was at least much more bearable being shorter.
That's why the announcement of SmackDown going back to three hours in January 2026 didn't make much sense.
It's been established that three hours for any weekly wrestling show is not ideal. For WWE, it forces the company to stretch out segments and matches where it's not necessary and kill time ineffectively.
There are pros to the longer runtime, such as giving more exposure to certain Superstars and divisions, but WWE appears to be content with filling the three hours with forgettable filler that leaves viewers ready to change the channel as opposed to wanting more.
Why Prioritizing Quantity Over Quality Isn't Productive
2 of 5
When SmackDown was originally three hours in 2025, WWE booked an excessive amount of impromptu tag team matches on the show, primarily with The MFTs and whoever they happened to be feuding with.
For WWE, it was the easiest way to fill the time and attempt to further feuds despite a majority of those matches being met with apathy from fans.
Expanding to three hours doesn't necessarily mean the company is going to use that extra hour to feature new faces, find innovative ways to tell stories or give more time to matches.
While that should be the case, it instead results in shows that offer little of value and are usually booked with one goal in mind: to get from one week to the next, not to make that specific show worthwhile.
Talking segments and matches could be further fleshed out with more time, but that's provided it's done properly and not simply for the sake of stretching something out. It's all about the quality of said segment or match, and that can be achieved on a two-hour show just as easily.
The surplus of commercials will make SmackDown even tougher to sit through at three hours long. WWE has never felt more corporate than it does today and many minutes are wasted on sponsorships, advertisements and recaps.
Thus, giving more time to a show that wasn't riveting to begin with will only exacerbate the issues that are already there.
Main Event Scene Still Needs Massive Reshuffle
3 of 5
The top of the card on SmackDown could use a serious shake-up to kick off the new year, and the upcoming Undisputed WWE Championship clash will provide the company with the opportunity to do just that.
Cody Rhodes will defend his coveted title against Drew McIntyre in what should be a grueling Three Stages of Hell match on Friday's SmackDown.
It's highly unlikely the Scot walks away with the title, but it would freshen things up on Friday nights while simultaneously rejuvenating the stale characters of Rhodes and McIntyre.
From Jacob Fatu to Sami Zayn to a debuting Oba Femi, McIntyre would have no shortage of potential challengers for WrestleMania 42, and Rhodes has a ready-made opponent for the event in the returning Randy Orton.
All of those names should be slowly elevated to the main event scene in the coming months so it isn't only Rhodes and McIntyre fighting for the prestigious prize. Three hours of SmackDown isn't going to cut it when the top title picture is as shallow as it has been in several years.
Once more notable names are added to the main event mix, SmackDown can fill out its three hours with multiple feuds involving them. That's exactly what the United States Championship scene has been for the last four months and the Undisputed WWE Championship scene should follow suit.
Abysmal Booking of Women's Division Should Be a Top Concern
4 of 5
The SmackDown women's division is far from dire, but the booking of both the WWE Women's Championship scene as well as the Women's United States Championship scene has been extremely questionable, to say the least.
Jade Cargill turning heel and taking the title from Tiffany Stratton in early November was the way to go, but the follow-up has left a lot to be desired.
The Storm has been kept busy with B-Fab and Michin, neither of whom have made for compelling challengers or legitimate threats. Stratton has been inexplicably absent since losing to Cargill as well.
Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair have benefited from teaming with each other since last spring, but they're needed more in the main title picture than the tag team ranks for now. Meanwhile, Giulia and Chelsea Green trading the Women's U.S. title back and forth hasn't accomplished anything, and Bianca Belair being out hurt has been a big blow.
The Raw women's division feels slightly more stacked on paper, but there's no excuse for how lazily WWE has handled the women on the blue brand for the last six months. No storyline has stood out as special and there has been no obvious effort to improve that as of late.
If WWE isn't giving fans enough of an incentive to invest in these characters as it is, then giving them more time to have the same matches and segments each week won't do them any favors.
Can All of the NXT Call-Ups Get Over Simultaneously?
5 of 5
WWE has thankfully begun the process of calling up fresh faces from NXT to the SmackDown roster, which was long overdue and desperately needed.
Trick Williams officially arrived on the Jan. 2 episode in a segment with Sami Zayn, and Jordynne Grace was confirmed to be joining the blue brand in a backstage segment with Jade Cargill on the same show.
Oba Femi has been teased as signing with SmackDown or Raw, Joe Hendry made an appearance at the end of 2025, and other rising rookies are expected to join imminently as well.
The question now turns to whether the company can manage to get all of them over simultaneously, most notably on SmackDown where the creative direction hasn't been overly encouraging over the last year.
All of the active talent, along with the newest acquisitions, will ensure the show is supported as it enters its latest three-hour era, but they're only as good as their booking and the storylines they're a part of. Change has to happen at the top in order for everything else to fall into place.
The best fans can hope for is SmackDown reverting to its traditional two-hour format by the summer, but in the meantime, it's imperative WWE makes the most of who and what it has under the current circumstances and salvages the show from falling any further into irrelevance than it already has.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.
_0.png?w=480)
