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#7. Backstage reaction to Vince McMahon leaving early and the whole fiasco
Yes, you guessed it right - the Superstars were reportedly not happy with Vince McMahon leaving early in his private jet.
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Dave Meltzer stated that the talents felt deserted and considered themselves as pawns in a power struggle between the company and the Saudi Government. It was also added that a handful of Superstars may have also lost some respect for Vince.
However, in his defence, the WWE boss may have had no idea of how bad the situation would get when he left Riyadh. He was just focussed on getting back to Buffalo to oversee the SmackDown show and could not have foreseen the unexpected delays that eventually created a furore amongst the pro wrestling fraternity.
#8. The effects of the Saudi Arabia mess on SmackDown
The severe shortage of talents threatened to derail an important SmackDown episode after Crown Jewel. However, WWE pulled out a rabbit out of their hat and booked one of the best Blue brand shows of the year.
Paul Heyman announced that Brock Lesnar was quitting SmackDown to go to RAW. The original plan, as per Dave Meltzer, never really included Heyman and his client on SmackDown.
The WWE Champion was originally supposed to announce his departure from SmackDown on the premiere episode of WWE Backstage on Tuesday, however, WWE changed the plan and added the segment to SmackDown.
The company also booked an NXT invasion angle with Triple H and the talented men and women from the Yellow brand contributing to an episode filled with great moments and entertaining matches.
It was added that the decision to allow Adam Cole to go over clean against Daniel Bryan in the NXT Championship main event was Vince McMahon's call. Triple H also predictably had a major influence on how the show was presented.
Despite all the criticism that stemmed from the events that unfolded in Saudi Arabia, WWE did a fine job of putting together a solid SmackDown show. The show had to go on and WWE made sure it did so in emphatic fashion. All said and done, the company has to be credited for their efforts in not compromising with the quality of the SmackDown episode.
