Backstage Issues Last Night at SmackDown
Last night’s episode of SmackDown didn’t seem as though it was the fallout show following a pay-per-view. There weren’t many talking points coming out of the show and the matches that did go ahead felt as though they were thrown together.
According to a report by The Wrestling Observer, this was because Vince McMahon arrived backstage at 12:30 pm and decided to rewrite the whole show. The site went on to note that this has become a regular occurrence at SmackDown in recent weeks, but has also happened several times at Raw.
WWE Storyline Set to Occupy Rey Mysterio’s Family Until Seth Rollins Returns
Murphy was able to defeat King Corbin last night on SmackDown, but the former Cruiserweight Champion used several heel tactics in order to do so. According to Ringsidenews, this could be because Vince McMahon sees Corbin as a bigger heel than the Mysterio family so some heel antics are allowed.
The site went on to speculate that the current storyline could be to occupy the Mysterio family until Seth Rollins makes his return, which is expected to be at some point in January. This could mean that the issues between Rollins, Mysterio, and Murphy are far from over.
Where Has Wobbly Walrus Gone?
The Firefly Fun House has introduced a number of new guests in recent months including Wobbly Walrus, Alexa Bliss and this past week saw the debut of Friendship Frog.
Wobbly Walrus left the show almost as quickly as he debuted, but there has been no mention of the parody character since. According to Ringsidenews, this is because Walrus was there as a parody of Paul Heyman and when Bray Wyatt vs Roman Reigns was scrapped, there was no need for the character to be in the Fun House.
WWE Stars Were Paid Flat Bonuses for Being Part of Survivor Series
This year’s Survivor Series boasted a packed card as well as celebrating the final appearance of The Undertaker. According to a report by Fightful Select, several WWE stars were handed flat bonuses for being part of some of the highlighted matches on the card.
The site stated that “there were several people that were told they would be given $15,000 bonuses for appearing on Survivor Series in a highlighted match.” It is currently unknown if all stars received the same bonus.
Roman Reigns vs Daniel Bryan Moved to Royal Rumble
It was made clear last night on SmackDown that Kevin Owens would be Roman Reigns’ next challenger for the Universal Championship. It was originally planned to be Daniel Bryan, but it appears that the company is pushing their feud back to Royal Rumble instead.
This means that Kevin Owens will be the one to challenge Reigns at TLC. That being said, The Observer did note that Bryan could be added to the main event to make it a triple threat instead, but Reigns vs Brayn isn’t expected to come to a head until 2021.
Bad News Regarding Lars Sullivan’s Future
Lars Sullivan only returned to WWE after a year on the sidelines last month as part of the WWE Draft. Sullivan was drafted to SmackDown and was reportedly being backed by Vince McMahon for a huge push. According to a report from Ringsidenews, the WWE Chairman isn’t even asking for Sullivan backstage in meetings.
Sullivan has been away from WWE TV over the last few weeks and at present, it is unknown when The Freak will be making his return to SmackDown if he makes his return.
As ever, wrestling fans are reminded that the above are just rumors and should not be taken at face value as facts
