{"id":163945,"date":"2026-07-03T00:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T04:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=163945"},"modified":"2026-07-02T20:41:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T00:41:35","slug":"wwe-smackdown-tonight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/07\/03\/wwe-smackdown-tonight\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE SmackDown Tonight (7\/3\/26) &#8211; Time, Card, What to Expect (SPOILER-FREE)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>WWE SmackDown tonight is back in the United States and kicks off July 2026 as it goes back to its original running time of<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/06\/28\/wwe-smackdown-back-to-2-hours-starting-in-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"> two hours<\/a>. Last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/06\/27\/wwe-night-of-champions-2026-results-6-27-26-live-updates\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">WWE Night of Champions 2026<\/a> saw the crowning of a new <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/06\/27\/oba-femi-wins-king-of-the-ring-2026-at-wwe-night-of-champions\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">King<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/06\/27\/iyo-sky-crowned-queen-of-the-ring-2026-at-wwe-night-of-champions-summerslam-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Queen of the Ring<\/a>. But not only that, a certain &#8220;underdog&#8221; is an underdog no more, finally realizing his dream and etching his place in the history books by becoming Undisputed WWE Champion.<\/p>\n<p>On the July 3rd, 2026 episode of SmackDown in Atlantic City, New Jersey, we deal with the fallout from last week&#8217;s massive PLE. Without further ado, we tell you what&#8217;s going to go down on WWE SmackDown tonight, <strong>SPOILER-FREE<\/strong>. Let&#8217;s run it down.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"1089\" data-end=\"1108\"><strong data-start=\"1089\" data-end=\"1108\">WWE SmackDown Tonight \u2013 Time and Channel (7\/3\/26) :<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_160841\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-160841\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/05\/11-3.webp\" alt=\"WWE SmackDown spoilers graphic featuring Sami Zayn when he was United States Champion.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" class=\"size-full wp-image-160841\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/05\/11-3.webp 1600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/05\/11-3-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-160841\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A WWE SmackDown graphic featuring Sami Zayn when he was United States Champion. (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Start Time<\/strong>: 8:00 PM EST\/EDT \/ 7:00 PM CST\/CDT \/ 6:00 PM MST\/MDT \/ 5:00 PM PST\/PDT \/ 4:00 PM AKST\/AKDT \/ 2:00 PM HST<\/li>\n<li><strong>Channel\/Streaming Service<\/strong>:<span>\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/series\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The USA Network<\/a><span>\u00a0(United States) +\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/browse\/genre\/81921064\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Netflix<\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span>(Internationally)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Read More:<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/06\/23\/how-to-watch-wwe\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">How to Watch WWE In Every Country It\u2019s Available<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>WWE SmackDown Card Tonight (7\/3\/26):<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_163507\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-163507\" style=\"width: 1125px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/06\/11-32.webp\" alt=\"WWE Night of Champions 2026 graphic.\" width=\"1125\" height=\"633\" class=\"size-full wp-image-163507\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/06\/11-32.webp 1125w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/06\/11-32-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1125px) 100vw, 1125px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-163507\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A WWE Night of Champions 2026 graphic featuring Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, and Gunther. (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/06\/27\/sami-zayn-undisputed-wwe-title-night-of-champions-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">#AndNEW Undisputed WWE Champion<\/a> Sami Zayn&#8217;s Championship Celebration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>WWE SmackDown Live Tonight Rundown (7\/3\/26) \u2013 What to Expect:<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: 610px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"8afcbf7a9ed3fd6bf7763b62addc7cf8\" image-id=\"3He6JfElrZZ3\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3100px; aspect-ratio: 3100\/2325;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>For nearly 30 years, Sami Zayn has busted his behind to reach the pinnacle of the professional wrestling business. Once he finally reached WWE, Zayn would immediately prove his merit by becoming NXT Champion, followed up by multiple title reigns with the Intercontinental, United States, and WWE Tag Team Titles. Heck, Sami Zayn even main-evented Night 1 of WrestleMania 39 and ended Gunther&#8217;s record-breaking Intercontinental Title streak.<\/p>\n<p>His resume speaks for itself: Sami Zayn is a surefire WWE Hall-of-Famer once it&#8217;s all said and done. That all said, there&#8217;s always that one thing that haunted Zayn throughout his illustrious WWE career, and that&#8217;s the Undisputed WWE Championship. On more than one occasion, whether it was against Roman Reigns or Drew McIntyre, Zayn was always just short of winning the big one.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, he promised that he&#8217;ll finally reach the mountaintop. It took a while, but at Night of Champions 2026, Zayn finally did it. Sami was like a house on fire on that night, even if Gunther and Rhodes merely treated him as an afterthought through their intense feud. Cody didn&#8217;t know what caught him until it was too late, and Sami Zayn was hoisting up the Undisputed WWE Title off of QB1.<\/p>\n<p>On this week&#8217;s SmackDown, we expect Sami Zayn to show up and show out, sporting the Undisputed WWE Title around his waist and drilling certain things into the minds of the people that doubted him. Unfortunately for him, <em>he<\/em> should expect challengers to come out of the woodwork, as he&#8217;s no longer the hunter but the hunted.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_145077\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-145077\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/10\/11-99-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"A WWE SmackDown graphic featuring Jade Cargill.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"wp-image-145077 size-large\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/10\/11-99-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/10\/11-99-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/10\/11-99-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/10\/11-99-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/10\/11-99.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-145077\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A WWE SmackDown graphic featuring Jade Cargill. (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Apart from that, Jade Cargill will be in a truly terrible mood after what went down at Night of Champions, and if Charlotte Flair is in the building on this night, she better watch her back because it will be on-site. Speaking of on-site, after a successful defense against Ricky Saints, U.S. Champion Trick Williams will absolutely have his lemon pepper steppers on and roll up to Atlantic City all decked out.<\/p>\n<p>What does he have to say? What do they all have to say? Check it out on WWE SmackDown tonight as they visit New Jersey!<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>If you want to skip ahead and know what&#8217;s going to go down this Friday night ahead of time, we&#8217;ve got you covered with the<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/06\/29\/wwe-smackdown-spoilers-7-3-26-taped-on-june-29-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">WWE SmackDown Spoilers (7\/3\/26) \u2013 Taped on June 29, 2026<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_161874\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-161874\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/05\/20260522_SD_Match_TrickHayes_16x9_Ton.webp\" alt=\"WWE SmackDown results graphic of Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams and Lil Yachty.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" class=\"size-full wp-image-161874\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/05\/20260522_SD_Match_TrickHayes_16x9_Ton.webp 1600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/05\/20260522_SD_Match_TrickHayes_16x9_Ton-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-161874\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A WWE SmackDown graphic featuring Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, and Lil Yachty. (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WWE SmackDown tonight is back in the United States and kicks off July 2026 as it goes back to its original running time of two hours. Last week, WWE Night of Champions 2026 saw the crowning of a new King and Queen of the Ring. But not only that, a certain &#8220;underdog&#8221; is an underdog [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3735,"featured_media":163946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,2192,4,3],"tags":[403,98,8238,7442,106,7988,9746],"class_list":["post-163945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-smackdown","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-charlotte-flair","tag-cody-rhodes","tag-gunther","tag-jade-cargill","tag-sami-zayn","tag-trick-williams","tag-wwe-night-of-champions"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3735"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163945"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163949,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163945\/revisions\/163949"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}