What Happened After WWE SmackDown Went Off The Air?

The rosters are not quite completely separated just yet it seems.

by John Bills
Ambrose Rollins Reigns Battleground
WWE.com

Two RAW wrestlers returned to SmackDown Live last night after the show went off air, as Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins took part in the post-show dark match. Reigns teamed with current WWE Champion Dean Ambrose in a winning effort against Rollins and Bray Wyatt, with Ambrose picking up the win after hitting Dirty Deeds on Rollins.

Whilst the cover story of recent weeks has been the exclusivity of the brands, until certain hierarchies are established this isn't so much of a surprise. SmackDown has a far thinner roster than RAW, and as a result it could well require some star power assistance to keep live crowds happy.

WWE also has prior announcements and bookings to honour, and the appearance of certain superstars at shows is going to be one of them. Whilst 'Card Subject To Change' may still exist there is much less leeway on that front in the modern age. We may be entering a brave new era with the brand split, but a promise is a promise after all.

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It is also of interest that Ambrose pinned Rollins here, as opposed to his fellow SmackDown competitor. Whilst it may very well be coincidental. WWE hasn't exactly gone out of its way to protect Bray in the past. Is this an attempt to keep SmackDown strong on its own show, or luck of the draw?

Contributor
Contributor

Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.