WWE News: Former Champion Misses Scheduled Appearance On ‘SmackDown’ Without Explanation
Things have certainly been different lately for WWE — and the rest of the world — thanks to the coronavirus. On this week’s Friday Night SmackDown, a lot was planned even though it was taking place in front of no audience at all, but the announced return of Paige didn’t happen. It was addressed during the broadcast in passing and fans began wondering if that was the truth or part of a storyline. The former champion decided to address the situation on social media, and she let it be known the truth was already out there.
Fans tuning into SmackDown on Friday were likely confused when they saw superstars wrestling in front of empty seats. Due to the threat of the coronavirus, WWE has been taking no chances at risking the health of their employees and the fans.
Jeff Hardy returned to action this week after a long absence, but there was one other big return scheduled for this week: former WWE Women’s Champion Paige. When WWE revealed that Paige was going to be on the show, fans were rather confused but excited by the announcement all at the same time. She medically retired from the ring nearly two years ago and hasn’t really been seen on television since The Kabuki Warriors fired her as their manager.
The show came and went, and Paige was nowhere to be seen, but Michael Cole did reveal that Paige was having “travel issues” therefore, she was not going to be present on SmackDown. During the broadcast, Paige let her fans know the reason for her absence on Twitter is exactly what Cole announced live on the air.
Just days before it was set to take place in Detroit, Friday Night SmackDown was moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando to take place in front of an empty arena. That really did lead to travel issues for Paige, but Bayley made sure to keep the angle alive on this week’s show.
The reason for Paige’s return is so that she could “confront” SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley for how she had been acting in recent months. Bayley and Sasha Banks said that Paige was “jealous” just like all the other women in WWE which led to Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross coming out for the opening match.
There have been rumors of Paige returning to the ring making the rounds lately, but nothing had been confirmed other than this appearance. As reported by The Inquisitr, some believe it isn’t out of the question after the in-ring returns of both Edge and Daniel Bryan, who were both retired from in-ring work due to injuries.
It is not clear what Paige’s intention was for her return to Friday Night SmackDown, but it hasn’t happened yet. WWE has not yet mentioned rescheduling her return for next week’s show, but hopefully, there will be some answers soon.
