7 Times Wrestling Promotions Turned Lemons Into Lemonade
3. SmackDown Roster Stranded In Saudi Arabia, NXT Invades
On Halloween 2019, WWE had a show in Saudi Arabia called Crown Jewel. Although the show wasn't very memorable (despite featuring Cain Velasquez and Tyson Fury) what happened after was.
The WWE roster featured on the show faced travel delays, reasons for which were conflicted. WWE claimed aircraft problems, though outside sources cited that WWE had not been paid for their previous show in the country, leading to Vince McMahon refusing to to broadcast Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, in turn leading to the Crown Prince of Saudi stopping WWE's flight from leaving the country. Whatever the case, the wrestlers and staff present at Crown Jewel would not make it to the following day's SmackDown Live taping.
With most of the SmackDown roster unable to appear (Crown Jewel saw 63 active competitors on the show) something had to be done in order to fill the void. With Survivor Series just under a month away it made sense for members of the NXT roster, who would be competing for brand supremacy at the PPV alongside RAW and SmackDown for the first time ever, to invade. The inclusion of NXT, as well as the match between NXT Champion Adam Cole and Daniel Bryan for the NXT Championship made for a fresh and exciting edition of SmackDown, one thought by many to be the best episode in recent memory. It also helped get eyes on the NXT brand which had just recently moved from the WWE Network to USA.