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WWE SmackDown Dealing With Technical Issues

By John Canton • Published Jun 27, 2025 13:34 EDT
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Fans wanting to watch WWE SmackDown on Netflix were disappointed during a live broadcast from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The June 27th edition of WWE SmackDown took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in front of a big crowd.

It was Michael Cole filling in for commentary with Wade Barrett. Cody Rhodes made his entrance to start the show wearing a suit, and the fans were singing his song. Before Cody could say a word, Randy Orton interrupted because he’s facing Cody in the King of the Ring finals at the WWE Night of Champions PLE on Saturday, June 28th. The fans also sang Orton’s song.

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 for those of us watching live on Netflix. I am watching in Canada, while I heard from others in England, India, Egypt, and other places where they were experiencing the same issues.

What Happened To WWE SmackDown On Netflix?

There was a brief “Pardon the delay” message that appeared on the screen, and then a “We’ll be right back” message. There is also the generic music that plays during the commercial breaks. That hasn’t happened during a live WWE broadcast for me on Netflix in the six months I’ve been using it.

The issue started at around 11 minutes into the show. The “We’ll be right back” message with generic music has been playing for about 20 minutes as of this writing.

WWE posted a statement on social media saying they would fix the issue shortly.

The show returned at 1:42 p.m. ET with Michael Cole apologizing for the delay after 30 minutes.

As always, I have a review of WWE SmackDown on TJRWrestling that will cover the full show.