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

Both the opening and closing segments of the show needed editing before WWE SmackDown could air in the United States.
Rick Ucchino|
CM Punk
CM Punk | WWE.com

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.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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