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Roman Reigns was among dozens of WWE Superstars who missed the November 1 episode of SmackDown due to travel issues coming back from the Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia.
With a limited number of blue brand Superstars available for Friday’s show, high-profile NXT names including Shayna Baszler, Rhea Ripley, Adam Cole and Tommaso Ciampa were involved in an invasion of SmackDown ahead of the three-brand battle for supremacy at Survivor Series.
Reigns, the #1 pick for SmackDown in the recent WWE draft, has now taken to Twitter to warn Superstars from the black and gold brand that they should not get too comfortable in his “yard”.
Why did Roman Reigns miss SmackDown?
WWE confirmed in the hours leading up to SmackDown that more than 175 Superstars, production crew and employees boarded a 747 charter flight back to the United States from Saudi Arabia after Crown Jewel on Thursday. However, the plane had problems with mechanical issues, meaning passengers were stuck on the aircraft for six hours.
The company added in a statement that some Superstars tried to arrange for their own plane to take them from Riyadh to Buffalo, New York – where SmackDown was being held – but the 14-hour flight would not have arrived until after the show.
How did WWE save SmackDown?
Heading into SmackDown, WWE’s updated preview only advertised Daniel Bryan, The Miz, Carmella, Nikki Cross and Dana Brooke, plus “additional surprises”.
Those surprises did not disappoint, as Tommaso Ciampa defeated The Miz in a one-on-one match and Adam Cole went on to retain his NXT Championship against Daniel Bryan in the main event.
Rhea Ripley and Tegan Nox also picked up a dominant win over Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, while Bianca Belair, Matt Riddle and Keith Lee were among the other NXT Superstars who appeared on the episode.
Also read: 21 things you need to know after WWE SmackDown
Now you can rate Crown Jewel and SmackDown matches on Sportskeeda!
