Mercedes Mone Looks Back On NXT Invasion Of WWE SmackDown

In 2019, a majority of the WWE roster got stuck in Saudi Arabia following that year's Crown Jewel event, which took place on Thursday, October 31. With the show taking place on a Thursday and the company having no "WWE SmackDown" roster available to be a part of the November 1, 2019 episode, the "WWE NXT" roster was parachuted in to save the day in what is often remembered as one of the most memorable episodes in the show's history. 

AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone, then known as Sasha Banks, was one of the few main roster stars available for the show, and recalled the feeling backstage on that day in the latest issue of her newsletter, "Mone Mag."

"A couple of years ago, I remember when the WHOLE Smackdown crew- yes ALL the GUYS were late coming to SmackDown from Saudi Arabia! We had to call in a whole crew from NXT to SmackDown. We didn't even know what was going on and, even more crazy- only girls were available. So literally one hour before, Shayna Baszler ended up attacking me. The show turned into the NXT Takeover. All due to the travel issues of the SmackDown crew. The audience was so surprised, and the talent was so surprised. It was such a skeleton crew but, it was a surprisingly good show! Surprises are fun sometimes, right?"

The show saw Bayley defend the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship against Nikki Cross, Tommaso Ciampa defeat The Miz, Rhea Ripley and Tegan Nox beat Fire and Desire, and Adam Cole successfully defend the NXT Championship against Daniel Bryan in the main event. The "NXT" roster stuck around on the main roster throughout the month in the lead-up to that year's Survivor Series event, which saw all three WWE brands pitted against each other.

Please credit the original source when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.