This past January, "WWE SmackDown" moved to a three-hour format for this first time in history after being acquired by the USA Network. Due to "WWE Raw" moving to Netflix at the start of the year, USA lost one of its top cable shows on the network, which left a massive gap in their programming on Monday nights. Therefore, with "SmackDown" leaving FOX, USA decided to apply the three-hour format to the blue brand, but the WWE Universe has had mixed feelings towards the schedule change. While some fans enjoy additional wrestling to start the weekend, others feel much of "SmackDown" has consisted of filler content, with the quality of the show declining since last year. However, in a recent edition of the "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer shared some good news for those craving for the two-hour format to come back, with June 6 being a possible return date.
"It's going to be right around that time, yes ... I was told months ago that it's essentially the end of May when it's going to happen, so it's going to be one of those weeks right around then yeah, so we got about a little over a month ... two hours is definitely better than three for "SmackDown."
Meltzer also noted that last Friday's episode of "SmackDown" pulled in 1,599,000 viewers, which is the fifth highest rating the show drawn since moving to the USA Network. The previous Friday, which was the "SmackDown" before WrestleMania 41, managed to accumulate 1,741,000 viewers and was the most watched episode this year.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
