WWE reportedly aware that SmackDown “needs help on the creative and talent side”

During the December 12th 2025 edition of WWE SmackDown, it was officially confirmed that the show will be moving back to a three-hour format starting on January 2nd 2026 at the Keybank Center in Buffalo, New York. This week, BodySlam.net noted the following about plans for SmackDown in the new year…

“Sources indicate that WWE is expected to give the SmackDown roster a little bit of a boost. WWE is aware that the brand desperately needs help on the creative and talent side and are discussing ways to improve.”

According to Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com, several NXT call-ups are expected in “the next month or so.” During a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Live, Alvarez stated that he doesn’t expect SmackDown’s three-hour format to be permanent. Alvarez explained the situation…

“I can’t say this 100 percent, but I can tell you that there’s a feeling within WWE that this is going to be very similar to what happened this year… It’ll probably be that way for six or seven months, and then it will go back to two hours again for the remainder of the year.

I think this has something to do with the current setup. Right now, SmackDown is two hours and is followed by the Braun Strowman show. [Everything On The Menu]. And that show is doing freaking great — number one because Braun Strowman is involved and he’s a big name to wrestling fans, and number two because it’s apparently a really good show. It goes on right after SmackDown, and it’s beating NXT and Dynamite.”