WWE Rumors: WWE planning major change to SmackDown post Wrestlemania

What's the story?

SmackDown will be moving to FOX this year, in what is one of the biggest deals in the history of sports entertainment. While RAW will continue to be aired on USA network, SmackDown will find a new home in 2019.

SmackDown will air it's first episode on FOX in the month of October, and while FOX CEO has stated that it is merely a "short-term" deal, Fans have reason to believe SmackDown will be on FOX to stay.

While a lot of changes have been pitched for the Blue Brand when they jump ship, another very interesting update has emerged about a major change that might take place.

In case you didn't know...

SmackDown has for long been considered the B show in comparison to Monday Night RAW, which continues to be the flagship show of WWE.

SmackDown was created in 1999 and became a separate brand in 2002. Vince McMahon merged the roster later on and it was only in 2016 that the two brands were split again.

The heart of the matter

On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer stated that there is now talk within WWE to possibly make SmackDown a three-hour long show once it makes the transition over to Friday nights on FOX.

The reason for that may be because the higher-ups feel that 205 Live has not been as successful as hoped for, and instead have an additional hour of Smackdown air on FS1.

RAW has received major backlash from the fans ever since it moved to being 3 hours long, and having Smackdown be a three-hour show will certainly not go down well with the fans.

What's next?

RAW has already proven that a 3-hour long show becomes tedious after a time and it would not be a wise decision for SmackDown to go the same route.