The stars were out for Friday Night SmackDown on FOX, except for the Undertaker.
Although advertised for the October 4 episode of SmackDown, which both served as the show's premiere on FOX and the 20th anniversary show, The Undertaker never made an appearance. After someone pointed that out on social media, Undertaker's official Instagram account would go on to state that he was told was not needed for the show. Undertaker last appeared on SmackDown on September 10 at Madison Square Garden.
"I was told I wasn’t needed," Undertaker's official Instagram account stated.
The Undertaker’s response to why he wasn’t on #Smackdown last night for the 20th anniversary and first show on #Fox. #WWE pic.twitter.com/X3FY0QFjRl
— Matt Degnan (@degnan_matt) October 5, 2019
Despite Undertaker not showing up on SmackDown, there were plenty of other big names both on the show itself and on the kickoff show. On SmackDown, Vince and Stephanie McMahon made brief cameos at the start and The Rock appeared in a segment with both Baron Corbin and Becky Lynch. Lineal heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury got into a staredown with Braun Strowman and former UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez appeared and attacked Brock Lesnar after Lesnar won the WWE Championship.
For a full report on SmackDown, check out Fightful's coverage of the show here and check out the post-show podcast at this link.
