Earlier this morning, reports about flight delays that will be impacting tonight’s (November 1) episode of Friday Night SmackDown started surfacing.
WWE had a quick turnaround time as the WWE crew had to return from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia after Thursday’s Crown Jewel event.
Although Vince McMahon and a small group of Superstars left before the issues began, the majority of the WWE talent roster and production people were stuck in Saudi Arabia.
This afternoon, WWE issued a statement where they confirmed the issues as well as giving an updated look at the show. This is where WWE noted that the show will feature Superstars such as Daniel Bryan, The Miz, Carmella, Nikki Cross, Dana Brooke.
Interesting enough to note that they also teased “additional surprises.” The stars above didn’t travel to Saudi Arabia as well as the women’s divisions aside from Lacey Evans, Natalya, and Lana.
You can see WWE’s statement here:
“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.”
WWE Suffering Travel Problems Leaving Saudi Arabia Ahead Of SmackDown
This will serve as the post-Crown Jewel episode of SmackDown. PWinsider.com reports that a new flight has been arranged to take them from Riyadh to the United States around 3 AM local time tonight.
Here is what was being advertised for SmackDown before the flight delay issues began:
- “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt to appear on MizTV with The Miz
- Roman Reigns vs. Baron Corbin
- SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival vs. The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Big E
- SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville vs. Carmella, Nikki Cross and Dana Brooke
Join us here later tonight for WWE SmackDown Results and our post-show SmackDown Takeaways feature.
