"Creative Fatigue" In WWE Over Three-Hour SmackDowns, Backstage Team Frustrated (WWE News)
Update on SmackDown concerns as three-hour runtime continues to cause creative frustrations.
WWE SmackDown's impending switch back to a two-hour runtime seemingly can't come soon enough for frustrated team members.
As reported on WrestleVotes Radio, SmackDown's current three-hour format has frustrated members of the production and creative teams, with many considering the decision to move from two to three hours a misstep. SmackDown has been a three-hour show since moving to USA Network on 3 January.
The belief is that extending SmackDown has hurt the show's pacing and led to an increase in filler content. Fortunately, the "creative fatigue" that has enveloped the brand may come to an end soon, however, with the blue brand expected to revert to two hours sometime in June.
WrestleVotes states that making SmackDown a three-hour show hasn't brought the benefits WWE had anticipated.
SmackDown had traditionally been a two-hour broadcast before 2025. This year has also seen WWE experiment with Raw's runtime, as the flagship show's move from traditional television onto Netflix has allowed greater flexibility with overall length. Typically, Raw now wraps in around 2 hours, 30 minutes, rather than the three hours it had been since July 2012.
Increasing SmackDown's length in January theoretically meant increased chances for underused members of WWE's roster to make it to television. But while the show provides a platform for some of the best wrestlers in the world to shine - including the likes of Cody Rhodes - others have seen no benefit from the increased runtime, including 2024 in-ring standout Andrade, who has worked only three SmackDown matches in 2025.