A lot of changes have been made on WWE television lately, and the trend is continuing for this week’s Friday Night SmackDown . The episode for this week looked to be a good one from the blue brand, but now, it appears to be entirely devoted to a “Tribute to the Undertaker.” Seeing as how the show has changed, it seems the cancellation of a big match for the Intercontinental Championship is no longer happening.
AJ Styles won the Intercontinental title in a great dream match against Daniel Bryan a couple of weeks ago. Last week, Styles lost a non-title match to Matt Riddle, making his main roster debut, and it was also an incredible bout.
WWE recently announced that Styles would put his title on the line against Drew Gulak on SmackDown this week, but that isn’t happening. The official page promoting the match on WWE’s website is no longer functioning and has a message that reads, “You are not authorized to access this page.”
The official preview for Friday Night SmackDown on WWE’s website has also removed the match buildup. The preview for this week’s episode states it will be a special “Tribute to the Undertaker,” and it appears as if it could take up the entire show.
The preview released earlier this week also had a segment promoting the ongoing feud between Jeff Hardy and Sheamus. WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman was also to address Bray Wyatt and his threats from last week’s show.
Both of those segments are no longer on the website. There is no mention of them anywhere on WWE’s social media, either.
As reported by The Inquisitr , multiple people at the WWE Performance Center recently tested positive for COVID-19. Tapings were to resume on Friday and Saturday to get footage for the next couple of weeks, but WWE may be rethinking that schedule.
It is possible that the Styles vs. Gulak match is no longer happening due to WWE wanting to get past another coronavirus scare. More will be evident on Friday evening if the “Tribute to the Undertaker” is a collection of great moments and matches throughout his career instead of a live show.
On this week’s final episode of Undertaker: The Last Ride , the legendary superstar essentially announced his retirement. Since then, both he and WWE have sent out “Thank You” posts on social media, which lend a lot to the idea that his time in the ring is over.
