Real Reason Behind WWE SmackDown’s Netflix Blackout in Saudi Arabia Revealed

WWE’s latest international broadcast didn’t just glitch — the entire production lost power.

The June 27th edition of SmackDown, airing live from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was supposed to be another global moment for WWE’s Netflix deal. Instead, fans watching internationally were hit with a brutal 30-minute outage — and now the real reason is out.

According to PWInsider.com, the issue had nothing to do with Netflix. The entire venue lost power, bringing WWE’s production to a standstill.

“PWInsider.com can confirm that there was a power loss in Riyadh that affected WWE’s entire production including the control room and the gorilla position. WWE lost all power and with that went any ability to control the different facets of the show. They are working to get everything back on line but again it was not a Netflix issue, it was an issue originating at the actual venue.”

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While viewers were stuck with a “Pardon the delay” message, WWE Superstars kept the live crowd entertained. Cody Rhodes hyped up Night of Champions, and Randy Orton turned the blackout into a party by “yeeting” with fans inside the arena.

Eventually, the feed returned and Michael Cole and Wade Barrett issued an apology to Netflix viewers for the disruption.

What do you think — was WWE’s handling of the situation solid, or should they have been better prepared for this kind of technical mess? Drop your thoughts in the comments.