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Major Netflix Outage Causes Broadcast Blackout For WWE Smackdown In Saudi Arabia

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Zack Heydorn | Last updated Jun 27, 2025 2:05 PM ET

A major Netflix outage forced WWE to scramble during the Smackdown tapings from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday afternoon.

According to Fightful, the international Netflix feeds froze and the screens inside the arena went out about ten minutes into the show. The microphones and main screens in the building also went out. This all happened while Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes were working a promo segment ahead of their King of the Ring final showdown at Night of Champions on Saturday afternoon.

WWE tweeted out a message to fans confirming the technical difficulties, saying "To our international audiences watching #SmackDown on Netflix: We apologize for any technical difficulties and should be back up and running shortly."

To our international audiences watching #SmackDown on Netflix: We apologize for any technical difficulties and should be back up and running shortly.
— WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2025

The outage lasted for about 30 minutes, which prompted Orton to try and kill time in front of the live crowd. The report indicates that Rhodes came back out 25 minutes into the delay and tried to hold the crowd over. Carmelo Hayes confronted Rhodes in an impromptu fashion and took a Cross Rhodes in front of the live audience.

This is the first ever episode of WWE Smackdown to air live from Saudi Arabia. Smackdown will air in full and as normal in the United States when it goes live on the USA Network on Friday night at 8 pm EST.

WWE has a busy weekend on tap in Riyadh. On Saturday afternoon, the company presents its Night of Champions event, which will feature John Cena vs. CM Punk for the Undisputed WWE Championship in the main event.

Other matches include the King of the Ring final and the Queen of the Ring final between Jade Cargill and Asuka.

This article first appeared on Wrestling on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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