WWE was reportedly prepared to shift the start time of Friday Night SmackDown in an effort to help create a primetime window for Game 6 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The proposed accommodation ultimately was not needed. SmackDown remains scheduled for its usual 8 p.m. ET start on Friday, while Game 6 between the Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream is set for 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday at State Farm Arena.
Still, the discussions revealed an unusual willingness by WWE to adjust one of its most established weekly television windows. The proposed scenario would have placed the WNBA Finals game in the arena on Friday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET, while pushing SmackDown’s USA Network telecast from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET.
Because USA Network is the television home for both programming blocks in this situation, a scheduling solution would have required cooperation beyond the venue itself. WWE president Nick Khan was contacted about the possibility and reportedly indicated that WWE would be comfortable with moving SmackDown later if doing so helped the WNBA Finals receive a more suitable arena and a traditional evening presentation.
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A Complicated Atlanta Scheduling Picture
Game 6 entered the week without a finalized venue and tipoff time as competing events created a difficult scheduling issue in Atlanta. State Farm Arena is also home to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, who are scheduled to play Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. That conflict made a Thursday-night WNBA Finals game in the building impossible.
A Friday alternative was explored, with a 7 p.m. ET Game 6 at State Farm Arena potentially providing a high-profile championship game with a conventional primetime setting. Under that arrangement, SmackDown would have begun immediately after the game at 9 p.m. ET rather than its standard Friday slot.
That possibility did not come together. The concern was tied to the wider Finals calendar, specifically the prospect of a Game 7 taking place on Tuesday and going head-to-head with Election Night coverage. Rather than create that potential conflict, the league’s scheduling approach resulted in Game 6 being placed on Thursday afternoon.
The final result leaves WWE’s weekly schedule unchanged. SmackDown will air Friday at 8 p.m. ET, preserving the regular time that fans have come to expect on USA Network. The WNBA Finals, meanwhile, will have Game 6 played earlier in the day at State Farm Arena.
Why A One-Hour Shift Would Have Mattered
On paper, moving a wrestling program by one hour may appear simple. In practice, live television scheduling involves a considerable number of moving parts. SmackDown is a live weekly production with a set network window, arena logistics, a traveling roster, production crews, advertising commitments, and a viewing routine that has been built around Friday nights.
A move to 9 p.m. ET would also have changed the show’s position within the night. Instead of opening its normal network window, WWE would have followed a championship basketball broadcast. That could have created a distinct lead-in for SmackDown, while also asking WWE’s audience to remain available for a later finish.
The willingness to consider the change is notable because it involved more than merely accommodating an arena event. The proposed Friday plan would have put two major live properties on the same network in consecutive windows, with the WNBA Finals serving as the lead program and SmackDown following it.
WWE has experience operating around sports calendars, major news events, venue conflicts, and network programming needs. Live wrestling television is often built to be flexible when necessary, even though maintaining a consistent broadcast pattern remains valuable for viewers. The reported response in this instance suggests WWE was open to a temporary adjustment when a larger scheduling solution required it.
State Farm Arena at the Center of the Decision
State Farm Arena became the focal point because Atlanta is the Dream’s home market and the building represents the natural setting for a Finals game involving the team. The Hawks’ Thursday-night commitment complicated that preference, creating a situation in which the league had to weigh arena availability, television placement, and the possibility of the series extending to a deciding game.
A Thursday afternoon game is a markedly different presentation from a Friday-night Finals contest. Primetime championship games generally offer a more familiar viewing window for audiences, and the explored Friday option would have allowed the game to take place in Atlanta in the evening. It also would have required a direct adjustment from WWE.
Steve Koonin, the Hawks and State Farm Arena CEO, reportedly reached out to Khan during the weekend negotiations surrounding the game’s location and broadcast window. The key question was whether WWE would be willing to move SmackDown if the 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET slot was needed for Game 6.
Khan indicated WWE would be fine with the later broadcast window if it was necessary to help the WNBA Finals take place in a more appropriate arena.
That cooperation did not lead to a final Friday plan, but it underscores how closely venue operators, leagues, networks, and programming partners must work when a postseason schedule collides with preexisting live events.
SmackDown Keeps Its Regular Friday Slot
For WWE viewers, the practical takeaway is straightforward: there is no time change. SmackDown will air at 8 p.m. ET on Friday as planned.
That continuity matters for a weekly show that serves as one of WWE’s central television platforms. SmackDown regularly carries major storyline developments, championship programs, match announcements, and appearances from the company’s top talent. A normal start time also avoids confusion for viewers who make SmackDown part of their routine each Friday evening.
The decision also means WWE can proceed with the expected production schedule rather than adapting to a later live broadcast. A 9 p.m. ET start would have pushed the program deeper into the night on the East Coast, changing both the show’s end time and the rhythm of a typical Friday television lineup.
Nothing in the reported discussions indicates that WWE’s willingness to move was connected to a change in SmackDown’s creative plans, location, or format. The issue was strictly one of broadcast timing and the potential need to clear a Friday evening network window for the WNBA Finals.
An Uncommon Example of Sports Programming Cooperation
The situation stands out because WWE and the WNBA occupy different spaces in the live-entertainment landscape, yet both depend on many of the same resources: available arenas, national television windows, production infrastructure, and audiences that watch live programming. When those interests converge, scheduling decisions can become far more complicated than a simple venue booking.
WWE’s reported openness to moving SmackDown also reflects the value of maintaining a workable relationship with broadcast and venue partners. USA Network would have been central to any revised plan, as the network would have carried both the WNBA game and SmackDown. A schedule with the Finals from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET followed by WWE programming would have made the network’s Friday lineup a unique live-sports-and-entertainment doubleheader.
Instead, the potential doubleheader remains only a scheduling possibility that was considered and then abandoned. The deciding factor was not WWE declining to move. Rather, the concern about a potential Game 7 landing on Tuesday opposite Election Night coverage led away from the Friday Game 6 plan.
For now, the calendar is settled. The Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream will meet for Game 6 at 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday at State Farm Arena. WWE will then present SmackDown from its regular 8 p.m. ET Friday night window on USA Network.
The episode will go forward without a disruption, but the behind-the-scenes scheduling discussions offer a revealing look at the flexibility that can be required when live championship sports, arena availability, and weekly wrestling television all intersect.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.