Drew McIntyre is the new WWE champion
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WWE SmackDown airs from Berlin, Germany will be headlined by another WWE Title match between Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes, this time in Three Stages of Hell.
WWE "Friday Night SmackDown" officially kicked off its new three-hour format on the USA Network this week. However, a new report suggests the expanded runtime may not be a permanent fixture for the entirety of 2026.
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WWE SmackDown viewership & ratings report: 1/2/2026
Along with total viewership increasing by 3% since last week, Friday's show marked the highest figure that "SmackDown" has posted in the 18-49 demo since the November 21 edition of the program. Unfortunately,
WWE SmackDown airs live from Berlin on Jan. 9 with a Three Stages of Hell main event and potential surprises. Here's the full card.
The most recent episode of Friday Night SmackDown was the first edition of WWE's blue show in 2026. It was arguably one of the best installments of the program in the past few months, especially with the return of Randy Orton and Matt Cardona (fka Zack Ryder).
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Why a three-hour long WWE Friday Night SmackDown isn’t a bad idea
Last January, it was announced that WWE Friday Night SmackDown was going to become a three-hour-long program temporarily on USA Network. The announcement came after a seismic shift in WWE programming, as they left FOX in September and simultaneously premiered Monday Night Raw on Netflix the same month.
After the less-than-stellar state SmackDown found itself in for the better part of 2025, moving the show back to three hours at the onset of 2026 was hardly the correct course of action.
Jordynne Grace is 'effectively' now a main roster star following her appearance on SmackDown. But fans aren't happy with her time in NXT.