WWE SmackDown moving to 3 hours is not a good move

2024 has been a year of interesting developments on the business side of professional wrestling. Especially in WWE. From the announcement of some PLEs shifting to two nights, WWE ID launching, partnering with Japanese promotions, and more – there’s a lot to talk about. One of the biggest stories was WWE Monday Night Raw shifting to two hours about a quarter of the year. On the other side of that, SmackDown is heading to three hours in 2025. This is a development that no one asked for and one that will not be the boost that some are praising.

“SmackDown continues to air on USA Network every Friday night at 8/7 central in the U.S,” WWE posted in a press release. “At the start of 2025, SmackDown will expand to three hours starting with the January 3 episode from Phoenix, Arizona.”

That was an announcement that no one saw coming. This is on the heels of there still not being an official announcement of whether Monday Night Raw will return to three hours once it premieres on Netflix on January 6. The shift back to two hours has been praised by some, while others have argued that it isn’t working. While there isn’t a quantifiable way to answer that debate, it is a discussion that is still worth having, especially as the Friday show is heading to three hours.

The benefits are obvious for WWE. This is an opportunity to obtain additional advertising revenue with a longer show. This was one of the reasons Monday Night Raw was expanded to two hours, and why other wrestling companies look to increase their time on television. There’s no telling how Raw’s advertising value changes with the move to Netflix, so SmackDown going to three hours can potentially replace that revenue. In a world led by capitalism, WWE continues to hit all the measures when it comes to those metrics.

But what will this mean for the quality of content on television? That’s the question that has fans apprehensive. Monday Night Raw wasn’t the best show at three hours, even with Triple H in charge. The show felt long and some of the segments felt forced. Does this mean more matches and storytelling for the women’s division? Probably not, as the track record proves that point. Will Triple H leverage some of the talented performers fans want to see, but are stuck in catering? Probably not. Again, there’s no history in those shifts being made. It will be interesting to see how fans react to the product, as it is understandable why many cut their eyes at this announcement.

There was a time when WWE SmackDown was consistently some of the best wrestling content available by WWE. Times have changed and all three shows have their moments. With SmackDown moving to three hours, there is a lot to question heading into 2025.