WWE Teasing Lars Sullivan For Tonight's WWE SmackDown?
WWE is teasing a possible appearance for Lars Sullivan on tonight's SmackDown from Birmingham, Alabama.
An announcement on the WWE website, seen below, included the following on Sullivan: "The one Superstar conspicuous by his absence was, of course, Lars Sullivan, whose impending arrival was announced before the other five were confirmed. Perhaps SmackDown LIVE will provide a glimpse of The Freak Tuesday night at 8/7 C on USA Network."
As noted, Lars' WWE status has been up in the air after he was set to work dark matches at the WWE TV tapings in Florida during the week of January 7. Lars reportedly left the show, due to an anxiety attack, putting his planned WrestleMania 35 match with John Cena up in the air.
Last night's RAW featured appearances by the other WWE NXT call-ups – EC3, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans and Heavy Machinery, but there was no mention of Lars. It was noted on commentary that the call-ups will be appearing on both brands, for now, until they are signed to RAW or SmackDown. It was reported earlier today that Lars was not backstage for RAW, and was not scheduled to be, but he is still signed to the company.
Below is WWE's announcement on the call-ups and the SmackDown tease for The Freak:
Superstars from NXT to appear on both Raw and SmackDown LIVE
Ever since it was announced that six NXT Superstars would be migrating to WWE, speculation had run rampant as to which brand the new class would call home. Now, thanks to Michael Cole, we have our answer: They'll appear on both. For now.
Cole confirmed on Raw that, as part of a unique arrangement, the black-and-yellow brand's newest alumni will receive a trial period of sorts that allows them to compete across both Raw and SmackDown LIVE until they find a permanent home on either Monday or Tuesday nights.
Raw already played host to five of the six: EC3 appeared among the Superstars vying for a Universal Title opportunity outside Mr. McMahon's office, Lacey Evans held court with Mickie James and Dana Brooke backstage, and Heavy Machinery appeared onstage during "A Moment of Bliss" for a bizarre confrontation with Alexa Bliss and Paul Heyman.
Nikki Cross was the only Superstar of the new class to actually compete, teaming with Natalya and Bayley in a winning effort against The Riott Squad.
The one Superstar conspicuous by his absence was, of course, Lars Sullivan, whose impending arrival was announced before the other five were confirmed. Perhaps SmackDown LIVE will provide a glimpse of The Freak Tuesday night at 8/7 C on USA Network.