Backstage WWE Status Updates On Sami Zayn And Kevin Owens, SmackDown Segment Edited, More
As noted, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were sent home from the current WWE European tour following Tuesday's WWE SmackDown. The two reportedly went against a WWE creative decision, which would have seen them take bumps for The New Day after Sami's singles loss to Kofi Kingston on Tuesday's blue brand show from Manchester, England.
Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the match finish went down as planned but the problem came during the post-match segment. Owens ran in and attacked Kofi as he was supposed to, and The New Day chased him away. Owens and Sami then left together. Apparently Sami and Owens were not supposed to leave right away as they were supposed to stay and get beat up, according to multiple sources. Other sources indicate that this was a complete miscommunication, and it's not like Owens and Sami refused to get beat up by The New Day. There are reportedly no issues related to Owens and Sami being mad about putting The New Day over. The issues were related to the two being expected to get beat up after the match, which was supposed to build their feud to a tag team match next week at SmackDown in Charlotte, NC.
Sami and Owens were told to leave the arena, go back to the hotel and fly home. They are off the current tour but everything else is up in the air. They could be back for Tuesday's SmackDown but nothing is official other than their status for the current tour.
On a related note, the pre-match segment went as it was supposed to but SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon did mess up, which forced officials to make an edit. Shane was booed when he mentioned SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan returning next week, which flustered him a bit. He then realized that fans were booing because they wanted Bryan there that night, not because they don't like him. There was an awkward edit made during that segment and this is why. There was also a mention of "men of honor" and some fans believed that was a reference to Ring of Honor but that was not the case.
There's no word yet on what was planned for Sami and Owens at the November 19th Survivor Series pay-per-view but it's believed that The New Day will be facing The Shield's Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Stay tuned for updates on their status.