Fox reportedly used black screen on Smackdown to keep ‘Die Rocky Die’ sign off TV

Viewers of WWE SmackDown might have noticed their screens going black at times during a segment of Friday’s episode. That was not an accident.

Several fans at the Diamond Desert Arena in Glendale, AZ had signs. One of them said, “Die Rocky Die,” in reference to Dwayne Johnson — The Rock. As the Rock was in the ring, the screen went black on several occasions.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated reported that this was intentional. Fox went to the black screen to keep the sign from being visible on television.

This was a somewhat frequent occurrence as the sign was facing the hard camera. The person holding the sign was behind other people holding signs up, so it was largely obscured for much of the segment.

On one hand, this makes some sense. WWE has tried to be more family-friendly for the last several years and SmackDown airs on network television. On the other hand, The Rock’s promo mentioned that Phoenix was the USA’s No. 1 city for both meth and cocaine use. Interestingly enough, that was one of the times when the “Die Rocky Die” sign was completely visible on television.

“Die Rocky Die” is also a throwback to early in the Rock’s career, when he broke into WWE as Rocky Maivia. While initially booked as a babyface, his character was generally not well received, which led to chants and signs that said “Die Rocky Die.”

The segment also included The Rock and Roman Reigns challenging Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins to a tag-team match on Night 1 of WrestleMania 40. Reigns will defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Rhodes on Night 2.

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