SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE has confirmed that pro wrestlers and crew members have experienced major delays in getting a flight back to the United States and will miss Smackdown tonight.
They detailed the situation in a WWE.com story today.
More than 175 Superstars, production crew and employees boarded a 747 charter flight back to the United States on Thursday. After the door closed, due to several aircraft problems including mechanical issues, all passengers sat on the tarmac for more than six hours. With SmackDown set to emanate live from Buffalo, N.Y., several Superstars felt so strongly that they arranged for their own separate charter in order to make it back to the U.S. for the show. Due to unforeseen issues, that charter will not land until after the live broadcast on Fox.
The remainder of WWE’s Superstars, staff and crew will depart on a charter set to depart Saudi Arabia later tonight.
As always with WWE, the show must go on. Live at 8/7 CT on FOX, SmackDown will feature Superstars, such as Daniel Bryan, The Miz, Carmella, Nikki Cross, Dana Brooke — plus, additional surprises.
Ironically, after losing two-thirds of the prior week’s viewership when the show moved from Fox to FS1 due to World Series coverage last Friday, this news and resulting massive social media buzz could lead to a surge in viewership due to curiosity over what WWE comes up with to fill two hours. Considering NXT wrestler will be part of Survivor Series this year for the first time, there could be a large NXT contingent tonight to fill in some of the time. Otherwise, wrestlers who weren’t on the Saudi Show because they are women or choosing to not go due to objections to the oppressive regime that runs the country (Daniel Bryan) will be leaned on more than usual.
Who the hell schedules a card in Saudi Arabia on a Thursday and then schedules one the next night in Buffalo??? Yes, Vince McMannequin!!!!
Those who organized and re-booked that Smackdown show on the fly, did a remarkable job, to say the least. Managing the logistics of getting everyone in place on short notice was amazing, let alone putting together a highly entertaining show.