Charlotte Flair and Drew McIntyre are not currently backstage at Lincoln’s Pinnacle Bank Arena for tonight’s SmackDown on FOX.
Last week, it was revealed that WWE knew Flair would be taking a break before deciding on her WrestleMania 39 loss to new SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley. According to PWInsider, Flair was originally scheduled to appear at this weekend’s live events before WrestleMania, but she is now on vacation. Flair and her husband, AEW’s Andrade El Idolo, have recently returned from Hawaii, where they celebrated her 37th birthday on April 5. You can check out photos from their vacation below.
There has been no official word on why Flair is taking another break, but she told people backstage that she and Andrade were going to travel. There’s also no word on how long this break will last, but it was a Flair decision rather than a WWE move.
McIntyre is also not in the building for tonight’s SmackDown. He was said to have missed last week’s post-WrestleMania show due to a health issue, and it was later revealed that he worked WrestleMania 39 while injured. He also failed to appear at a local signing last Friday. It was noted that the severity of the injury is unknown, as is the length of time he will be out and when the problem first occurred.
Regarding tonight’s absence, it’s worth noting that McIntyre did local media in Nebraska to promote tonight’s SmackDown, implying that he was scheduled at one point.
As previously stated, McIntyre’s WWE contract expires later this year, but the two sides have yet to reach an agreement, and McIntyre has stated that he will not make a decision until later this year, closer to the expiration date. It was also reported that McIntyre is dissatisfied with WWE for a variety of reasons, but his absences last week and this week are said to have nothing to do with his contract or reported dissatisfaction.
Spoilers for tonight’s SmackDown can be found by clicking here. Our live SmackDown results are available by clicking here.
The following are the aforementioned Flair photos/clips:
