Friday night’s post-Crown Jewel and Veteran’s Day edition of WWE SmackDown from Indianapolis featured a few changes.
According to the internal schedule, a Rey Mysterio interview would take place after the Six-Pack Challenge and before the Braun Strowman vs. Jinder Mahal World Cup match. The segment was never broadcast.
There has been no word on why WWE did not air the Mysterio interview, but this is especially interesting because Rey was scheduled to compete in the World Cup as of 12pm ET on Friday afternoon, but he was replaced by RAW Superstar Mustafa Ali. Click here for World Cup details following SmackDown, and click here for a backstage update on Ali’s condition, including World Cup comments from Ali.
Mysterio has not been seen since losing to WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER in the main event of the October 28 SmackDown. Rey has not commented on his status and has been relatively quiet on social media since last Friday, posting no tweets and only a throwback match against WWE Producer Jamie Noble on Instagram.
The Bloodline segment, which featured Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos, Solo Sikoa, and Paul Heyman, also had noticeable changes. Sami Zayn was not present, and Michael Cole stated that he was dealing with a personal matter, but that he will return next week to face Butch in a World Cup Tournament match.
The segment was billed as a “Bloodline Anointment Ceremony” on the internal rundown sheet distributed prior to the show, but WWE billed it as “Roman Reigns’ Special Moment” during the show. The segment is referred to as a Bloodline Acknowledgement Celebration in WWE’s post-show recap and YouTube clip.
The segment didn’t have a clear direction. Heyman praised The Usos for breaking The New Day’s record, and Reigns discussed how it was difficult to be his cousin because everyone has always recognized him for his greatness their entire lives. The Brawling Brutes and Drew McIntyre then interrupted to set up the apparent War Games match, which Reigns said he never thought would happen.
Before SmackDown, it was also reported that Sheamus was planning to sell his previous injuries, but he fought with The Bloodline to end the show.
On a related note, Robert Roode was present backstage for Friday night’s SmackDown but was clearly not used. This suggests that when he recovers from his injury issues, he may be a blue brand Superstar, as previously reported. For the most recent information on Roode’s status and return, click here.
