Several top WWE talents were missing from WWE's 2021 Holiday Tour events, despite being advertised for the shows.
Vince McMahon's promotion's 2021 Holiday Tour kicked off tonight with shows in Tampa and the iconic MSG in New York. Some big names were absent from the events, even though they were advertised for the same.
PWInsider has now provided the full list of WWE Superstars who missed live events in Tampa and NYC. Check out the names of superstars who missed the events, below:
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WWE Superstars who missed the NYC live event: RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch, WWE Champion Big E, Seth Rollins, Bianca Belair, Zelina Vega, and Bobby Lashley.
WWE Superstars who missed the Tampa live event: Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, and Xavier Woods.
Additional notes from tonight's WWE live events
* Natalya was scheduled for the Tampa live event, but was sent to the NYC show where she pulled double duty. She defeated Nikki A.S.H. in singles competition, and lost to Rhea Ripley.
* As Bobby Lashley didn't appear at the MSG live event, his manager MVP was absent as well.
* Doudrop and Carmella were not advertised for either live events, and were absent from both shows. PWInsider was told that the latter was never promoted for the RAW live event.
* It was reported last week that several WWE personnel had tested positive for COVID-19. Before kicking off both events tonight, the company informed the fans in attendance that some of the talents weren't going to make it to the shows due to the "effects of COVID-19."
It looks like Seth Rollins is among those who contracted COVID-19. He hinted at the same in his latest tweet.
WWE is mere days away from presenting its highly-anticipated Day 1 event on January 1, 2022. The show features a packed card from top to bottom, including several title matches.
Roman Reigns will defend the Universal title against Brock Lesnar. Big E is scheduled to take on Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, and Kevin Owens in a WWE title Fatal Four-Way match. Becky Lynch is scheduled to defend her RAW Women's title against Liv Morgan.
It remains to be seen how the latest string of COVID-19 positive reports will affect the January 1 event. We'll share more updates with you as and when they become available.