Netflix users furious just minutes into WWE Smackdown event as company forced to release statement

People watching WWE SmackDown on Netflix have been left furious as the streaming company was forced to release a statement.

On Friday night, the latest WWE SmackDown event took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the likes of Cody Rhodes, Jimmy Uso, CM Punk and John Cena

and Randy Orton all in action.

However, fans tuning into the event on the popular streaming platform Netflix were left confused when the broadcast was abruptly halted shortly after the action began.

Taking to social media, Netflix wrote: "To our international audiences watching #SmackDown on Netflix: We apologize for any technical difficulties and should be back up and running shortly."

It was later revealed that Netflix were not to blame for the technical difficulties.

As reported by Wrestling Headines, there was a power outage at the venue in Riyadh, which had an impact on WWE's entire production setup.

The report stated: "Sources confirm that a power outage occurred at the venue in Riyadh, impacting WWE’s entire production setup—including the control room and the gorilla position. The unexpected loss of power temporarily shut down all production operations, rendering WWE unable to manage or transmit the live broadcast.

"WWE is actively working to restore full functionality, but the disruption was caused by an internal venue issue rather than a problem with Netflix’s platform. Additionally, fans should note that WWE halted in-ring action and show production during the outage. Therefore, international viewers are not missing any live content from the arena during the transmission interruption."

Image: Getty

Around 30 minutes after the first tweet, Netflix then assured fans that the event was back up and running.

They wrote: "SmackDown on Netflix is back up and running, and you’ll see it in its entirety!"

Looking ahead, it has been claimed that WWE SmackDown will return to its two-hour format from July 4, with the USA Network looking to launch a new series named 'The Rainmaker'.

The change was confirmed by Michael Cole during Friday night's broadcast of WWE SmackDown in Saudi Arabia.