Backstage Update On Whether Final Three-Hour Episode Of WWE SmackDown Airs This Week

"WWE SmackDown" is set to return to a two-hour time slot soon, and a recent report has provided more details on when it will happen.

"PWInsider" has confirmed recent rumors that the blue brand will go from three hours to two hours from next week's show, with the June 27 edition of the show from Saudi Arabia being the last one to be a three-hour show. The report added that starting from the July 4 show, "SmackDown" will permanently be a two-hour show.

Another recent report claimed that "SmackDown" going down from three hours to two hours was due to the debut of "The Rainmaker" show, which will air from August 15 at 10 p.m. The move to two hours has been the plan for a long time, with WWE CCO Triple H confirming it way back in January. 

The Friday night show was previously a two-hour show, but following its move to the USA Network from FOX, it became a three-hour show last September. While "SmackDown" has a fixed runtime, "WWE Raw" has a more flexible one due to its airing on the streaming platform Netflix. The red brand's episodes typically run between two and a half to three hours, varying from week to week. 

This coming week's "SmackDown," the final three-hour show, will be held at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a day before the Night of Champions PLE, which will also be held at the same venue. Next week's show will be held at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. It will be taped on Monday, immediately after "Raw" airs, and is scheduled to broadcast on July 4.