10 Times WWE Had A BLACKOUT
8. Opening With A Dark Match (Monday Night Raw, September 25th 2006)
The show-opening angle of the September 25th 2006 edition of Monday Night Raw was to feature Lita taking on Candice Michelle in a "match" refereed by Edge that ended when 'The Rated-R Superstar' drilled the latter with a spear. From there, the heels would be chased off by John Cena to set up some mixed tag action down the road.
And it did. If you could see it.
In bizarre scenes, most (though, not all) of the arena's power goes out just as Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are running through their usual show-opening spiel. The fireworks go off without a hitch and the buzzing crowd are panned to, but it's at that point the bulk of the power packs in. A few spotlights remain on the ring and the commentary can still be heard, but Lillian Garcia can't and every head looks like a Mystery Science Theatre commentator from behind.
Truthfully, it was a welcome bit of a weirdness to a show that had become far too familiar. That WWE could still get through the planned bit with minimal hassle spoke to the system's bland robustness, and, to be completely fair, the wrestlers' patience and professionalism.