Major update on WWE's plans for massive SmackDown change - Reports
There has been an update about a rumored massive change to WWE SmackDown. The blue brand aired for the past five years on the FOX Network, but that deal has come to an end.
SmackDown aired live on the USA Network this past Friday night and featured the return of Roman Reigns following the Undisputed WWE Championship Steel Cage match between Cody Rhodes and Solo Sikoa. According to a new report from Fightful Select, SmackDown will be remaining at two hours in length on the USA Network moving forward.
The report noted that it is still unknown how long RAW will be every week when the red brand moves from the USA Network to Netflix in January 2025. There have been recent rumors that SmackDown could be three hours on the USA Network, but that does not appear to be the case.
Roman Reigns returned following Cody Rhodes' victory over Solo Sikoa on SmackDown. The Head of the Table attacked The Bloodline and will be teaming up with Rhodes at Bad Blood next month to face his former faction in a tag team match.
Former WWE manager comments on Cody Rhodes' popularity on SmackDown
Wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell recently noted that he was not a huge fan of Cody Rhodes, but his popularity was undeniable.
Speaking on the latest episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk show, Mantell shared that he wasn't a huge fan of The American Nightmare. However, the legend added that Rhodes is very popular with younger fans and predicted that the former AEW star would always be a babyface.
"Now, I'm not a huge fan of Cody, but the son of a gun is over. He is over with the kids; he is over with the families. Because he represents, you know, he doesn't do drugs, doesn't talk bad stuff, so he is kind of a fixture for them that you can put after the kids, but I don't think we'll see Cody as a heel. I really don't." [33:03 - 33:40]
You can check out the video below:
LA Knight will be defending his United States Championship against Andrade on this Friday's edition of WWE SmackDown. It will be interesting to see if WWE has any surprises planned for this week's edition of the blue brand.