According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio , by way of Sportskeeda , WWE superstar Nikki Cross could miss tonight’s Clash of Champions pay-per-view.
“There’s certainly rumors about Nikki Cross who was not on television yesterday, on Friday. If she’s there, she’s there and if she’s not there then she’s not there. I asked this morning if she was going to be there and nobody got back to me which, you know, that’s your answer, nobody got back to me.”
The superstar didn’t appear on this week’s Friday Night SmackDown , and her status is currently unknown.
As the report highlighted, this week has seen an outbreak of more positive COVID-19 cases from within WWE’s Performance Center. As of Sunday, some NXT performers and personnel had been affected, though the company hasn’t released a list of names of all the positive cases. All of the people in question have been placed into a 14-day quarantine period, however, and they’ll be re-evaluated at a later date.
The timing of Cross’ absence suggests that she could be taking time off as a precautionary measure. It’s also possible that she could be one of the unnamed superstars who has been ordered into quarantine.
The main roster shows are currently held in a ThunderDome arena away from the Performance Center. However, it’s not uncommon for employees from the black-and-gold brand to mingle with main roster talent at the moment. Most of the Retribution stable is made up of developmental stars. Other performers have also been used as crowd stand-ins and other televised roles.
As The Inquisitr recently documented, Performance Center employees have been prohibited from attending Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown shows until further notice. However, several talents have reportedly expressed concern due to potentially being exposed to asymptomatic cases.
Cross is set to face Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the pay-per-view. As of Sunday morning, no replacement superstars have been announced for the big title match.
She has also been involved in a major angle involving Alexa Bliss and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt. Cross vowed to save her best friend from Wyatt’s possession, and it’s odd that she wasn’t present for the last episode since the storyline was prominently featured.
Bayley, meanwhile, is currently feuding with Sasha Banks. The company appears to be holding off on their inevitable showdown for the time being, which means that Banks is unlikely to replace Cross tonight.