WWE Making Change To SmackDown Brand
A major change is happening for the WWE SmackDown brand in 2025.
The year 2025 is a time for changes in WWE with Monday Night Raw heading to streaming giant Netflix on January 6th rather than being on traditional cable television like it was for the previous 31 years of the show.
SmackDown has been on the air since August 1999 and during that entire 25-year run, it’s been a two-hour show. SmackDown has changed nights multiple nights after starting on Thursdays (taped on Tuesdays), then it was moved to Fridays, then over to Tuesdays as a live show in 2016, and again to Fridays in October 2019 when it started on FOX.
After going back to USA Network on Fridays in October 2024, there were rumors that the blue brand could be a three-hour show since that’s what Raw was since 2012 on USA Network.
It has been announced by WWE on their website that SmackDown is officially going to be a three-hour show starting with the January 2nd episode from Phoenix.
SmackDown continues to air on USA Network every Friday night at 8/7 C in the U.S. At the start of 2025, SmackDown will expand to three hours starting with the Jan. 3 episode from Phoenix, Arizona.
The same post by WWE did not confirm if Raw will go back to being three hours long or what the show length will be on Netflix.
Triple H Makes Promise To WWE Fans
Regarding Raw’s move to Netflix, WWE’s Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque made some big promises to the fans.
“Now, with the biggest streaming service in the world as our partner, we become bigger than we have ever been before. On January 6, it is not just the launch of Raw. It is a new launch of WWE worldwide. I promise you, we will bring you the biggest stars, we will bring you the biggest storylines, we will bring you things like you have never seen before.
“Netflix on January 6 is just the start. That officially is the road to WrestleMania in Las Vegas. I can promise you from here to then, this will be like nothing you have ever seen before.”
The WWE Raw on Netflix premiere will see CM Punk take on his rival Seth “Freakin” Rollins in Los Angeles on January 6th. Meanwhile, Roman Reigns will face Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat Match along with other huge matches.