January 3, 2022 Observer Newsletter: WWE changes due to omicron, MSG near record low
The effects of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 led to a number of major changes and precautions in WWE.
Among the names advertised who didn’t appear on shows this week were Roman Reigns, Big E, Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, Bianca Belair, Bobby Lashley, Queen Zelina, Shinsuke Nakamura, and King Woods.
Omos worked on 12/26 in Madison Square Garden but didn’t work Raw where he was scheduled, advertised on the show, plugged during the show (although he had gone home), and pulled from the house show the next night. Omos was scheduled on Raw in a match with A.J. Styles which was awkward in the way it was handled since the match was advertised all night even though Omos wasn’t there. Liv Morgan, who is in the women’s title match on Saturday’s PPV show, meaning one would think she’d be on TV with a skeleton crew, was not on either show, although she was never advertised for MSG and wasn’t on the Raw house shows either.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.