WWE was willing to move Friday Night SmackDown’s start time to 9 PM ET in order to help the WNBA secure a venue for Game 6 of the WNBA Finals, according to multiple reports citing ESPN. The offer came as the league scrambled to find a suitable location and time for the pivotal matchup between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream.
Game 6 of the series was left without a confirmed venue and start time in the days leading up to it, largely because State Farm Arena in Atlanta was already booked. The Atlanta Hawks were scheduled to play at the arena on Thursday night at 8 PM ET, creating a direct conflict for a potential Thursday Finals game at the same building.
Reports indicate that Nick Khan and WWE were approached about adjusting SmackDown’s usual Friday night slot to accommodate the situation, and the promotion did not hesitate to offer flexibility. Shifting SmackDown to a 9 PM ET start on Friday would have opened a window that could have helped the WNBA work out a path to get Game 6 into a larger arena rather than a smaller fallback venue.
As it stands, Game 6 has ultimately been scheduled for Thursday at 12:30 PM ET at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, according to the reports. That daytime slot allowed the Finals game to proceed at the larger arena without requiring WWE to actually implement the schedule change, since the conflict with the Hawks’ 8 PM ET game was avoided by moving the basketball tip-off to the afternoon.
The episode highlights the kind of scheduling cooperation that can occur between major live-event properties sharing arena space and broadcast windows, even across different sports and entertainment companies. While WWE’s SmackDown time slot ultimately did not need to change, the willingness to shift a flagship weekly broadcast demonstrates the lengths the company was prepared to go to assist in resolving the WNBA’s venue conflict.
No further details have been provided regarding who at WWE handled the discussions beyond Nick Khan’s reported involvement, and neither WWE nor the WNBA has issued a formal statement confirming the specifics of the arrangement beyond what has been reported by ESPN and relayed by wrestling outlets.
