AEW’s Mercedes Mone, formerly known as Sasha Banks, recently shared her behind-the-scenes perspective on the 2019 WWE SmackDown episode that turned into a surprise NXT Takeover due to last-minute travel issues.
In the latest edition of her newsletter, Mone Mag, Mercedes Mone recounted the chaos and excitement surrounding the November 1st, 2019, episode of SmackDown, just one day after WWE’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia.
A couple of years ago, I remember when the WHOLE SmackDown crew—yes ALL the GUYS were late coming to SmackDown from Saudi Arabia! We had to call in a whole crew from NXT to SmackDown. We didn’t even know what was going on, and, even more crazy—only girls were available.
In a scramble to save the show, WWE flew in NXT stars, and with limited main roster talent, the night took an unexpected turn.
So literally one hour before, Shayna Baszler ended up attacking me. The show turned into the NXT Takeover. All due to the travel issues of the SmackDown crew. The audience was so surprised, and the talent was so surprised. It was such a skeleton crew but, it was a surprisingly good show! Surprises are fun sometimes, right?
That night, fans witnessed Bayley defend the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Nikki Cross, Tommaso Ciampa defeat The Miz, Rhea Ripley and Tegan Nox beat Fire and Desire, and Adam Cole retain his NXT Championship against Daniel Bryan in the main event. The NXT roster continued appearing on the main shows in November, building excitement for Survivor Series, which featured a rare inter-brand competition among WWE’s three rosters.
Which WWE Raw Change Does Mercedes Mone Think “Sucks” For The Wrestlers?
Mercedes Mone spoke about a change to Raw’s programming that “sucks” for the wrestlers. Mone was speaking about the change from a 3-hour format back to a 2-hour format and she doesn’t think this change is good for the wrestlers as it means fewer opportunities for them to get onto the show. However, Mone thinks that the move to Netflix is a good thing because it means more people will see the show.