Report: WWE Canceled a Major NXT Call-up for Last Week's WWE SmackDown

Changing plans at the last second is nothing new for the WWE, but the company apparently had [...]

By Connor Casey

Changing plans at the last second is nothing new for the WWE, but the company apparently had something big planned for last week's Friday Night SmackDown that never saw the light of day. The show went off the air with Kevin Owens defeating Jey Uso, only for Roman Reigns and Uso to attack Owens in the stands of the ThunderDome and injure the former world champion by sending him crashing onto a table well below the platform all three were standing on. According to @WrestleVotes, this segment was originally going to see the arrival of someone from NXT.

The name of that star wasn't given, but it was somebody who is featured on tonight's New Year's Evil card. That list includes Finn Balor, Kyle O'Reilly, Damian Priest, Karrion Kross, Rhea Ripley, Raquel Gonzalez, Santos Escobar and Gran Metalik. Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher were also booked for the show in a FIght Pit Match, but that has since been pulled.

Beyond New Year's Evil, NXT has not confirmed when its next NXT TakeOver event will take place. Last year's TakeOver during the Royal Rumble weekend was replaced by the Worlds Collide event as a crossover with NXT UK. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, that likely can't happen.

WWE's next big event, the Royal Rumble, is scheduled for Jan. 31. Here's everything confirmed for the show so far:

  • WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre vs. Goldberg
  • Men's Royal Rumble Match: Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley, TBA
  • Women's Royal Rumble Match: Nia Jax, Charlotte Flair, Billie Kay

Update: Fightful Select is now reporting that the call-up was supposed to be Damian Priest. It's unclear if his upcoming match with Karrion Kross at New Year's Evil will now be his send-off from the brand.

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