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Michael Cole Confirms New WWE SmackDown Runtime Starting July 4th

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | Last updated Jun 27, 2025 4:26 PM ET

WWE SmackDown's new runtime has finally been confirmed.

After months of speculation over whether SmackDown would stay three hours or return to the two-hour format, during the June 27 episode in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Cole confirmed on air the return to a two-hour runtime. The show was expanded to three hours beginning in 2025 and has run from 8-11 pm ET, but starting July 4th, SmackDown will return to airing between 8-10 pm on USA Network.

Tonight's episode will air on delay in the United States, although at the normal time, having broadcast live from Riyadh for international audiences on Netflix starting at 1pm ET. Match segments and results (spoilers) are available.

During the show, live viewers on Netflix experienced a roughly 30-minute outage, as Netflix feeds froze and microphones and screens lost power in the building. WWE tweeted out a message confirming the technical difficulties and apologizing to fans.

To our international audiences watching #SmackDown on Netflix: We apologize for any technical difficulties and should be back up and running shortly.@WWE

To our international audiences watching #SmackDown on Netflix: We apologize for any technical difficulties and should be back up and running shortly.
— WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2025

The July 4th show will be pre-taped following WWE Raw on June 30 due to the July 4th holiday.

Today's show kicks off WWE Night of Champions weekend, which airs at 1pm ET from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Viewers can tune in via Netflix internationally and on Peacock in the United States.

This article first appeared on Wrestling on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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