WWE SmackDown Faces Massive Technical Issues in Saudi Arabia
June 27, 2025
4,415
By
Jeremy Hanna is a Newsweek contributor based in Los Angeles. His focus is on professional wrestling, sports, and entertainment. Jeremy has been with Newsweek since 2024 from LA Sports Report. He is a graduate of California Lutheran University. You can follow Jeremy on X (formerly Twitter) @JeremyHanna753 and on Bluesky @jeremyhanna753.bsky.social. You can contact Jeremy via email at j.hanna@newsweek.com. Languages: English.
Jeremy Hanna
Contributing Sports Writer
news article
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Share
✓ Link copied to clipboard!
English (Original)
Español
中国人
Français
Deutsch
Portuguese
हिन्दी
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
While the show was streaming live for international audiences, the feed suddenly cut out while Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes were having a segment building up their King of the Ring finals match.
However, the issue doesn’t lie with Netflix.
There was a blackout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that caused power to go out. This not only affected the livestream, but power at the arena as well.
“To our international audiences watching [SmackDown],” WWE said on social media. “We apologize for any technical difficulties and should be back up and running shortly.”
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 17: Nia Jax and Bianca Belair in action during Smackdown at Pechanga Arena on January 17, 2025 in San Diego, California. SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 17: Nia Jax and Bianca Belair in action during Smackdown at Pechanga Arena on January 17, 2025 in San Diego, California. WWE/Getty Images
Fortunately, the scene was resolved within half an hour after WWE released the statement.
According to a report from Fightful Select, SmackDown will air as normal in the United States.
More Pro Wrestling: ‘Street Fighter’ Adaptation Officially Casts 50 Cent, Jason Momoa, More
For more WWE and professional wrestling news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
Um die besten Erfahrungen zu bieten, verwenden wir Technologien wie Cookies, um Geräteinformationen zu speichern und/oder darauf zuzugreifen. Wenn Sie diesen Technologien zustimmen, können wir Daten wie das Surfverhalten oder eindeutige IDs auf dieser Website verarbeiten. Die Nichteinwilligung oder der Widerruf der Einwilligung kann bestimmte Merkmale und Funktionen beeinträchtigen.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
