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USA Network Broadcast Of WWE SmackDown Required Heavy Editing, Including Punk Promo

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Rick Ucchino | Last updated Jun 28, 2025 10:52 AM ET

The WWE production crew had themselves a busy day on Friday.

The international broadcast for WWE SmackDown on Netflix was marred with technical issues during the opening promo exchange between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. A power failure resulted in a 30-minute delay, which saw Orton, Rhodes and Carmelo Hayes all try to keep the Riyadh crowd entertained until the problems could been fixed.

WWE was forced to use shaky camera footage of the opening promo segment during the USA Network broadcast here in the states and video editors had less than a four hour turn around to splice together an air-quality first hour of the show. Making an already difficult process even harder, the close of the show also required a bit of editing.

The main event segment of SmackDown saw the debut of the Dr. of Punkanomics. CM Punk came down to the ring dressed in old school Chicago Cubs inspired John Cena swag, and cut a rap on the WWE Champion.

CM Punk may be the 'Best in the World' when the bell rings, but he's not the best rapper. During the live show for international audiences, Punk flubbed a few of his lines, and Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select is reporting those lines did not make it the air in the United States.

"A source in WWE confirmed what anyone's ears that watched both broadcasts could see. There was additional crowd noise in the United States broadcast, and Punk's line flub was edited out," Ross Sapp said. "One WWE production source said that today was a very busy one between the power issues and the main event segment editing, and they're personally excited for the move to two hours for Smackdown next week."

John Cena and CM Punk are just hours away from battling for the WWE Championship when Night of Champions goes live from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on Peacock.

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

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