How WWE Reacted To SmackDown Technical Issues On Netflix

There was a 30-minute delay on WWE SmackDown from Saudi Arabia while Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton were in the ring.

WWE SmackDown in Riyadh was going to be the final show before the Night of Champions PLE on June 28th. It had an early start time for international WWE fans watching on Netflix since it was taking place at 8 p.m. locally in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which meant 1 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. in the UK. After some backstage walking was shown, Michael Cole and Wade Barrett welcomed us to the show.

Cody Rhodes made his entrance first while wearing a suit because he’s in the King of the Ring Finals at Night of Champions. Before Cody could say a word, Randy Orton made his entrance to join him as the other King of the Ring finalist. The fans in Riyadh were loudly singing the theme songs of both men as well.

Orton asked the fans if they watched Monday Night Raw and if they saw Cody face Jey Uso in the semifinal match. Orton put over Cody’s match with Jey on Raw, saying it was a match of the year contender and a pleasure to watch.

That’s when the technical issues began at around 1:12 p.m. ET. There was a brief “Pardon the delay” message that appeared on the screen, and then a “We’ll be right back” message.

There was also the generic music that plays during the commercial breaks. It was an issue for everybody watching on Netflix, not just in specific countries.

During the delay, WWE posted a statement on social media saying they would fix the issue.

After 30 minutes, at around 1:42 p.m. ET, the show returned. Michael Cole apologized for the 30-minute delay and also jokingly apologized that we had to see Wade’s face. Wade jokingly said that they never had these problems with Joe Tessitore on commentary.

When they returned, the first match of the night began soon after as JC Mateo faced Jimmy Uso in singles action. There were no issues over the next 2.5 hours.

How Does WWE Plan To Handle The Cody Rhodes-Randy Orton Segment?

Fightful Select reports that after the technical issues, Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton were told about what happened. Orton went on to kill some time by speaking with the crowd. After that, Orton’s theme song played a few times, and he greeted fans at the ringside.

According to Fightful, Cody Rhodes addressed the crowd when the internal screens resumed operation. Carmelo Hayes went out to the ring to confront Cody, and that led to Cody hitting the Cross Rhodes, so it was a way to pop the crowd.

The cause of the issue was a “power outage to the control room and Gorilla position area at the venue,” according to Fightful.

When the segment aired on USA Network later on Friday, WWE used ringside cameras to show the promos from Rhodes and Orton, while also apologizing for the technical issues.