WWE News: Reason why The New Day missed SmackDown Live

What’s the story?

The New Day were absent from last night’s tapings of SmackDown Live.

The reason behind The New Day’s absence has now been revealed, as all three members were at the Television Critics Association Winter Tour event in California. Stephanie McMahon has took to social media so as to post a few photographs of the event—

Thank you @OfficialTCA & @USA_Network for hosting @WWE yesterday! 25 years of Monday Night #Raw is certainly a milestone to celebrate! #Raw25 #TCA18 pic.twitter.com/n0iiAehdKA

— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) January 10, 2018

Don't you dare be sour! Clap for the surprise introduction for the #Raw25 panel by @TheNewDayWWE and feel the power! #TCA18 (photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) @XavierWoodsPhD @WWEBigE @TrueKofi pic.twitter.com/9JIF4fgDrD

— The TCA (@OfficialTCA) January 9, 2018

In case you didn’t know…

The New Day comprising Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods is one of the WWE’s top stables today and currently perform on the SmackDown Live brand.

While The New Day perform consistently at WWE’s television tapings and house shows, fans have been speculating about their absence from this week’s edition of SmackDown Live.

The heart of the matter

The latest episode of SmackDown Live transpired at the Legacy Arena at The BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama on January 9th, the show featured Tag Teams other than The New Day; as The Bludgeon Brothers defeated The Ascension, and Breezango picked up a win over Rusev & Aiden English.

Meanwhile, The New Day alongside several other WWE personalities were in attendance for the Television Critics Association Winter Tour in Pasadena, California around the time SmackDown Live was taped. The WWE made sure its presence was felt at the event ahead of RAW's 25th-anniversary episode later this month.

Apparently, WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels, Mark Henry, The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods), The Miz, Maryse, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were at the TCA event in California. In fact, Triple H & Stephanie McMahon addressed an important issue at this very event.

What’s next?

Fans can expect The New Day to make their on-screen return on next week’s episode of SmackDown Live, and continue in their quest to regain the blue brand’s Tag Team titles.

The next edition of SmackDown Live airs from the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas on January 16th.

Author’s take

The New Day are entertainment personified. While Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston may get the crowd hyped about a match/segment, seldom does one see someone have better comic timings in sports-entertainment than Big E.

The trio is also excellent mat wrestlers, and their 2017 feud with The Usos was excellent. Here’s hoping the WWE Universe potentially gets to see the two top teams engage in yet another feud in 2018.