During the most recent WWE SmackDown event at Madison Square Garden aired on Friday, spectators at home encountered several moments of black screens. These instances were deliberately employed by the FOX network as a means to censor unruly fan chants.
While Madison Square Garden was filled with an audience that frequently engaged in explicit chants during SmackDown, instead of muting the feed, the network decided to black out the screen, attempting to create an interpretation of a technical issue. However, this choice was solely made by FOX, with no involvement from WWE.
According to a report by Fightful Select, WWE was notably discontented with the blackouts. The incessant absence of visuals seemingly put WWE in a bad spot, seeming more like technical difficulties than an intentional attempt to curb the rowdy live chants.
Before SmackDown was broadcasted live, the Madison Square Garden audience started off the night with innovative and possibly inflammatory chants, including continuous “we want Dijak” chants for the recently left WWE superstar.
The Fightful Select report mentioned, “Several WWE sources expressed discontent over the heavy censorship and editing on Smackdown. A WWE veteran, who wasn’t present during Smackdown, responded to our tweet expressing excitement for Smackdown’s relocation to the USA network by saying ‘watching it sometimes feels like a chore. I can make sense of censoring ‘fk the Pacers’, but it feels like every segment is doctored which reflects poorly on our production.’”
Interestingly, starting January 2025, WWE RAW will streamed on Netflix, presenting an uncensored platform. SmackDown’s shifting to the USA Network could also offer additional flexibility in managing such instances.