WWE postpones New Orleans return as SmackDown episode for October moved

WWE sent out a press release during this week's edition of Monday Night RAW announcing that the SmackDown episode in New Orleans has been postponed in the wake of Hurricane Ida. WWE was originally scheduled to be in the city on October 1st for the show.

On the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana faced Ida, which was the most powerful hurricane since Katrina. The storm was so strong it knocked out the power within the entire city of New Orleans, which has a population of nearly 400,000 people.

Truly remarkable time lapse video from our remote cam that was set up in Laplace, LA at Frenier Landing to capture the storm surge from hurricane #Ida @BuzzFeedStorm @afreedma @capitalweather pic.twitter.com/e7b19LXOmb

— Mark Sudduth (@hurricanetrack) August 30, 2021

Check out the official press release below:

STAMFORD, Conn., August 30, 2021 – The WWE Friday Night SmackDown live event scheduled for October 1 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans has been postponed. All original tickets will be honored for the new 2022 date. Friday Night SmackDown on October 1 will now take place at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore. Additional ticket information on both events is forthcoming.

SmackDown will feature a WWE Universal Championship match this week

It is always a big deal when either the WWE or the Universal Championship are defended on their respective television shows. This week will be one of those special episodes when Roman Reigns defends his WWE Universal Championship against Finn Balor this Friday on SmackDown.

THIS FRIDAY on #SmackDown#UniversalChampion @WWERomanReigns defends his Universal Title against @FinnBalor!@HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/TFmzN5mWUU

— WWE (@WWE) August 31, 2021

Balor was supposed to face WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at SummerSlam. However, Baron Corbin ruined things for The Prince, and in the end, John Cena came in and signed the contract.

The former Universal Champion laid out the challenge to Reigns last week and fired the first shot. Balor got the last laugh on The Bloodline and got his wish granted for a title match.

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Who do you think comes out on top in the main event of SmackDown this week? Finn Balor or Roman Reigns? Sound off in the comments section!