Despite being advertised for last night’s unique episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Paige was not in attendance for the show. Turns out the reason behind his absence was thanks to travel concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Ryan Satin of ProWrestlingSheet, Paige “did not travel to Florida for Smackdown due to coronavirus related travel concerns which the company accommodated.”
Paige herself would address missing the blue brand show. Taking to Twitter, she wrote:
“Sorry guys travel made it very hard for me to get there for #SmackDownLIVE with everything that’s going on. Completely out of my control. [sad face emoji] very sorry.. But at least @itsBayleyWWE is keeping you entertained” She accompanied her message with a gif of a woman laughing into her drink, causing it to spray everywhere.
Empty SmackDown
Last night’s SmackDown Live took place in an empty WWE Performance Center. Only essential personnel were in attendance, including ‘The Game’ Triple H and Michael Cole who both provided commentary.
The decision to move the show to the WWE PC was made due to the coronavirus threat. WWE aren’t the only ones affected, with All Elite Wrestling also having made changes to upcoming shows to help protect their fans and talent.
At the time of writing, WWE is still committed to going ahead with WrestleMania 36. Last night’s episode continued to build towards their biggest event of the year, despite other organizations delaying, rescheduling or outright cancelling their events.