Rhea Ripley looks back on what became a very fun night for WWE.
Back in 2019, WWE was preparing for its weekly edition of SmackDown, the first edition of the blue brand following a major event in Saudi Arabia earlier that week. However, the WWE plane would become infamously delayed, and a large percentage of the SmackDown roster would be unable to appear on the show.
WWE was forced to pivot, and decided to bring in a bunch of NXT talent on SmackDown in what would become known as the NXT invasion. Ripley spoke about this night during an interview with British GQ, where she recalled how quickly the plans changed.
We’re on the clock 24/7. We could get called to do anything at any time. When people on SmackDown got stuck in Saudi Arabia [in 2019], it was 12 o’clock, I was at the gym and I answered my phone to them [WWE] saying, ‘We need you to get on a plane right now.’ I was an NXT star at the time. I had to quickly go home, shower, pack a bag and head to the airport.
The new SmackDown women’s champion opened up about how tight the window actually was, even revealing that Shayna Baszler ran straight into a segment as soon as she arrived to the venue.
We legit landed and went straight to the show. I remember Shayna [Baszler] getting off the plane, getting in the venue and running straight out onto live television.
This would setup the NXT vs. WWE storyline for that year’s Survivor Series premium live event.
