WWE cuts Randy Orton off; SmackDown faces huge broadcast failure

WWE SmackDown had an unusual start time tonight, but that was not all that was unfamiliar about it, as fans found out when Randy Orton appeared. The broadcast failed, and it encountered several issues during the early part of the show.

Randy Orton was out speaking to Cody Rhodes ahead of their match at Night of Champions tomorrow, in the King of the Ring Tournament final. This will be Orton's second King of the Ring final in many years, though this time he will be looking to win. Unfortunately, before the two could say very much, the Netflix stream ended in disaster.

While it will air later on tape delay for the USA Network at the usual time and fans in the USA, the show was airing live across the world on Netflix at 8 PM Saudi Arabian time. Unfortunately, Randy Orton was in the middle of delivering a promo, and the stream froze.

Then the Netflix broadcast started to display a message stating that the show would be right back and that the stream was delayed. There was also a message for some fans saying that the stream had not started yet, whereas it had clearly begun.

This is the first such broadcast failure for fans since Netflix acquired the international rights to WWE. It remains to be seen how they will edit it out for the later airing during the day.