WWE Was Ready To Give Up SmackDown's Regular Time For The WNBA Finals, But The Plan Fell Through

WWE president Nick Khan reportedly said yes to pushing SmackDown back an hour so the WNBA Finals could get prime-time slot at Atlanta's State Farm Arena, ESPN reported. It started when Steve Koonin, CEO of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena, asked Khan about moving the USA Network broadcast from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET. But the whole thing fell through after concerns came up about a possible Game 7 running into US midterm Election Night coverage. The Finals schedule did change, while WWE's Friday show stayed at its usual time.

WWE Was Willing to Give Up Its Regular SmackDown Time to Help the WNBA Finals

These talks happened while the WNBA was hunting for a good venue and broadcast window for Game 6 between the Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream. The game was first set for Thursday evening, but the league ran into arena scheduling problems in Atlanta.

Per ESPN, Koonin reached out to Khan and asked whether WWE would slide SmackDown to 9 p.m. ET on Friday. That would let the WNBA run Game 6 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at State Farm Arena. Khan reportedly agreed, saying WWE would be fine with the later broadcast if it helped the Finals land in a more suitable arena.

Under that setup, WWE's regular Friday show on USA Network would have started later than normal. The league dropped the evening plan in the end, though.

WNBA Moved Game 6 to an Afternoon Start While SmackDown Kept Its Friday Slot

So what changed? WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert raised concerns about a Game 7 possibly landing on US midterm Election Night, according to the report. The league scrapped the evening idea and put out a new schedule for Game 6 instead.

The Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream will now play at State Farm Arena on Thursday, October 29, with tipoff at 12:30 p.m. ET. It was originally set for 8 p.m. ET. Game still airs on USA Network and streams on Peacock.

Also, the change touched the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, who agreed to move their regular-season matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers to 8 p.m. ET on Thursday so the Finals game could use the arena.

WWE, meanwhile, kept SmackDown at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, October 30, and its official preview confirmed it.

The episode is titled Danhausen's Very Nice, Very Evil SmackDown, and Sami Zayn will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Trick Williams. Chelsea Green is also set to defend the WWE Women's Championship against Nikki Bella, with Danhausen hosting the show.