WWE Smackdown reportedly has a new lead writer heading into the summer of 2024

According to Fightful.com, longtime WWE writer John Swikata has taken over Ryan Callahan’s position as head writer for WWE Smackdown. Callahan, who was said to have departed the company, had been Vice President of Smackdown since February 2023 and was lead writer for the show starting in June of 2020.

Swikata has reportedly been a well-liked member of the creative team and has worked as a senior writer with the company for years. It’s believed that Swikata started in his new role last week.

WWE sources told Fightful that they considered Friday’s episode of Smackdown to be one of the biggest since Wrestlemania 40. The event received critical acclaim from fans with a 9.25 rating on the Cagematch wrestling database and it is currently the second highest-rated episode of Smackdown on the site.