Details On ‘Travel Day From Hell’ Affecting WWE Raw

WWE

UPDATE: On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer confirmed that a flight from Orlando to Seattle was delayed, and that’s where the travel issues heading into WWE Raw stemmed from because much of the talent was on that particular flight.

The people on that flight – reportedly including Matt Riddle and Sami Zayn (see towards the bottom of the original story below) – actually arrived at Raw during the third hour.

Another thing Meltzer mentioned was that the Riddle vs Miz match was initially cancelled for a different reason, before the travel issues even came into play.

He also pointed out that Elias and Baron Corbin were both actually at the show, just not used.

Original Story

Even with Vince McMahon not backstage at WWE Raw last night (April 10), changes had to be made to plans due to some major travel issues.

Planned matches had to be scrapped, including one that had been publicly advertised, with a whole host of big names absent from the show.

PWInsider reports that “numerous” sources in WWE relayed the idea that yesterday was an “absolute travel day from hell”.

One source claimed it had affected “half the roster”, but another said it “wasn’t that bad”.

In terms of exactly how much of the show had to be adjusted, PWInsider reported it’d heard “about a third of the show” was changed because of the issues.

It was said that the creative team was “basically putting together a show with the performers they had available”.

When it comes to who was missing, here are a few names. Keep in mind it’s not 100% confirmed these are ALL because of the travel issues, but the likelihood is at least some, if not most, were affected.

WWE United States Champion Austin Theory – WRKD Wrestling had reported that there was something planned with Theory and Bobby Lashley. Lashley had a match with Bronson Reed, but there was no Theory on the show.

WWE Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair – Belair was planned for a match with IYO SKY. Instead, SKY won a three-way #1 contender’s match against Piper Niven and Mia Yim.

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley & Damian Priest of Judgment Day – The other Judgment Day members, Dominik Mysterio and Finn Balor, were on the show in the opening segment and Balor had a match against Rey Mysterio, but there was no Ripley or Priest.

Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins – There was no word on any plans for Rollins before the show, but you’d think it would be odd for a name of his level to not be used if he was available. His wife Becky Lynch was there and on the show.

The Miz – The Miz had been advertised for a match all week against Matt Riddle, which didn’t happen, and Miz wasn’t on the show at all. SEE UPDATE AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE.

Others that weren’t on the show, that may or may not have been because of the travel issues, include: Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, Baron Corbin (UPDATE: Corbin was there, just not used), Candice LeRae, Johnny Gargano, Dexter Lumis, Elias (UPDATE: Elias was there, just not used), Omos, MVP, Mustafa Ali, Rick Boogs, and maybe others, but those are the ones who are regulars on the show you’d have expected to see.

Dolph Ziggler and Nikki Cross were at the show as they worked matches during the Main Event tapings against NXT stars Tyler Bate and Zoey Stark before Raw started.

Another interesting note comes in the form of Sami Zayn and Matt Riddle, who both ran in to save Kevin Owens from Solo Sikoa and the Usos at the very end of the show.

WRKD Wrestling had reported the original planned main event for Raw was Zayn vs Sikoa, but it ended up being changed to Owens vs Sikoa.

It’s possible that Zayn, and maybe Riddle too, actually arrived at Raw late, possibly during the show, so the change to the main event match had to be made earlier in case they didn’t make it, but they did end up being there in time and were able to get involved at the end. SEE UPDATE AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE.

We’ll let you know if there’s further news/clarification on any absentees and scrapped plans from WWE Raw.

PWInsider also mentioned that, similar to SmackDown, Vince McMahon, despite not being present at the show, had gone through the original creative plans and approved them without making any huge changes.

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