Your Friday night viewing habits are going to stay the same a little while longer. “SmackDown” will still air for three hours through this month with the final three-show of the year airing on June 26. From July until December, it will revert to its much preferred two-hour format. It was speculated that it could end sooner as Braun Strowman’s “Everything on the Menu” has returned for its second season. For now, “SmackDown” will end at 11 PM ET and Strowman’s show will air immediately after.
Friday’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter provided some additional insight. Dave Meltzer confirmed that “SmackDown” will remain a three hour show until Friday, June 26. “The current plan is to be three hours every year from January until the end of June, and two hours from July to the end of the year.” When “SmackDown’s” schedule changes in July, Strowman’s show will move to 10 PM ET.
The three-hour format hasn’t been much of a fan favorite for the last few years. When “SmackDown” is in the three-hour format, it coincides with “The Road to WrestleMania” into ‘Mania season. The switch to the two-hour format signals SummerSlam season is starting.
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