Backstage Update On Wrestlers Pulled From Recent WWE House Shows
Roman Reigns and others missed live events. Why?
WWE made the concious choice to remove headline stars from selected house shows in order to try and keep Saturday's Day 1 pay-per-view card in tact.
This is according to Dave Meltzer, who suggested that the likes of Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and others were kept away in order to preserve a rumoured "WrestleMania storyline" at the event, especially following positive tests for Seth Rollins and others.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Wrestlingnews.co), Dave Meltzer said:
“Basically what I was told on [Sunday night] was that there are people who are being held off this week’s touring that are the main eventers essentially on pay-per-view because they do not want Lesnar, Heyman, and Roman Reigns for example – they want them all at Day 1. It’s very important. Whatever storyline they’re doing, it’s the Mania storyline and they gotta be there if at all possible...So Reigns was pulled from every house show to lessen his shot at getting sick and of course, Lesnar wasn’t going to be at the house shows and Heyman didn’t need to be on the house shows either. I don’t know if Big E tested or he was pulled…he’s also a main eventer. Rollins was tested positive. Lashley, we don’t know but he’s in the main event so it can go either way. Then Kevin Owens, I guess they just felt they needed to have one guy out there for TV and for the house shows…”
WWE Day 1 will take place on January 1st, and as of December 31st hasn't undergone any card changes as of writing, but the company haven't been afraid to make such necessary adjustments at late notice in the past. More updates as and when they occur.