WWE Network's Latest Delay Will Drive Away UK Fans

Tonight, the WWE Network was finally supposed to launch in the United Kingdom.

At 8 p.m. GMT, a wait of nine months was set to come to an end as the over-the-top subscription service would finally become available.

However, less than 30 minutes before the Network was set to go live, a short statement appeared on WWE.com and via the WWE Network's Twitter account:

The statement initially read only that the Network was delayed until further notice, but it was later edited to add a line thanking British fans for "bearing with us." Comments were also disabled at this point.

Social media exploded with rage at the news, with B/R columnist Justin LaBar pointing out that WWE may have just shot itself in the foot. The company is set to tour the UK next week and is taping an episode of Raw in Liverpool.

This is perhaps the most frustrating of the numerous delays to the WWE Network's UK launch. It occurred only minutes before the supposed release, with many fans already logged in to the website, waiting to subscribe.

The complete lack of an explanation is likely to be especially irritating for fans who have already seen the Network teased to them on multiple occasions. It is unclear whether the delay is purely a WWE issue, a technical problem or a result of outside negotiations with Sky TV, who provide WWE's weekly shows and pay-per-views.

Either way, the move is a curious one for the company. They are going to be taping an episode of their flagship weekly television show in front of an audience that will contain hundreds of actively hostile fans. I imagine that the programme will be a lot lighter on $9.99 references and Network plugs.

With WWE announcing slow growth in terms of Network subscribers, the UK market could be a real opportunity to kickstart a turnaround for the company's fortunes.

The more you look into it, the more illogical this delay appears to be. The WWE has a lot to gain from a United Kingdom rollout of the Network, so it's farcical that they have pulled the service without explanation.

It will be interesting to see whether the British Network delay is mentioned on tonight's episode of Raw and what the reaction to the company will be during the UK tour.

But tonight, anyway, WWE has made an enemy of an entire country.