Over the weekend, a few SmackDown Live house shows took place in the Northwest and Canada. Like most of WWE’s live events, it was the opportunity for WWE superstars to perform without the same restrictions they have on Raw or SmackDown Live every week. Certain rules don’t apply anymore, which is why WWE officials were able to replace Shinsuke Nakamura with Seth Rollins on an event for the SmackDown roster.
During the show in Vancouver, “The King of Strong Style” was scheduled to wrestle Jinder Mahal in a WWE Title match. He was replaced by Rollins who fought the WWE Champion to a disqualification win after The Singh Brothers interfered. WWE officials were able to keep the match mostly the same with Rollins, but the absence of Shinsuke Nakamura has created a lot of questions for the WWE Universe heading into the week.
Unfortunately, the real reason why Seth Rollins replaced Shinsuke Nakamura isn’t that interesting. It’s been reported that Shinsuke ran into issues crossing the border and the decision was made for Seth to fill in for a match. WWE officials offered the fans a refund if they want it, but it seems the crowd was happy with Seth Rollins’ surprise appearance.
On Sunday night, Shinsuke Nakamura got his match with Jinder Mahal during another WWE live event in Everett, Washington. The result of the match was the same, but the crowd in Everett got to see “The King of Strong Style” mix it up in the ring with the WWE Champion. Shinsuke’s travel issues are the reason why he missed the event in Canada, but Rollins showing up at random for a SmackDown house show is interesting.
House shows have always been a more relaxed event as opposed to the intensely structured episodes of Raw and SmackDown Live every week. A lot of fun things can happen during WWE live events. Suddenly, a one-off appearance by Seth Rollins can lead to a match with the WWE Champion out of the blue. The brand split has certain rules, but those are out the window during untelevised shows. The WWE Universe may find new rumors out of situations like these, but sometimes it’s just the fans and the performers having some fun.
[Featured Image by WWE]
