• WWE Officials Were Upset After Friday’s SmackDown
WWE SmackDown in Salt Lake City this past Friday has sparked behind-the-scenes concern after ticket sales reportedly plummeted to nearly half of what the company achieved in the same market 11 months ago. According to multiple internal sources, Friday’s edition of SmackDown saw significantly weak demand, falling to less than half of WWE’s 2025 average attendance.
A WWE source described the turnout as “very disappointing” to Fightful Select, noting that a large number of ticket holders were relocated from their original sections – a common practice when live shows under-deliver.
While relocating fans isn’t unique to WWE (other promotions including AEW and TNA also do it), the scale of the gap this time stood out.
WrestleTix reported that a little over 7,000 tickets were sold for SmackDown, far below WWE’s year-to-date average of approximately 12,272 attendees. Another source suggested the decline was nearly 50% compared to the previous visit to Salt Lake, which upset WWE officials.
Despite featuring major match-ups, including headline talent on SmackDown and plans for Saturday Night’s Main Event, WWE’s ability to draw in Salt Lake City was clearly hampered. One backstage observer said the promotion’s reliance on upper-deck capacity that was later tarped off reveals a bigger issue with demand over content.
• WWE Changes SmackDown Star’s Name
Zelina Vega recently joined forces with her real-life husband, Aleister Black, on SmackDown. Zelina showed up during Black’s Last Man Standing match against Damian Priest in Australia, which provided the distraction for Black to throw a fireball in Priest’s face and put him away with a Black Mass for the win.
On a recent episode of SmackDown, Priest returned after the fireball attack and went after Black, but Zelina jumped on him and hurt his injured eye, thus helping Black escape.
Due to her new character, WWE has shortened Zelina Vega’s name to just Zelina. The change has been made official on their website.
• Post Malone Got Attacked Backstage At Saturday Night’s Main Event (Photo)
WWE hosted Saturday Night’s Main Event this past weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah, and among the celebrity attendees was global music artist Post Malone, who was shown several times on camera enjoying the action throughout the night.
Backstage, things took a surprising turn when Post was attacked in a playful manner by the new World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, along with Bayley, and Raquel Rodriguez of The Judgment Day.
In the photo shared on Instagram by actor Gabriel Luna, Punk can be seen putting Malone in a chokehold, while Bayley grabs his arm and laughs, and Raquel holds onto his leg with a grin.
You can view the photo below:
Post Malone was also in attendance for Clash in Paris back in August, where he was confronted by Seth Rollins at the end of the show. He took The Visionary’s trash talk personally and later challenged him to a match at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas next April.
• Chelsea Green Becomes Mixed Tag Team Champion With Male WWE Star
At last night’s AAA Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) event in Monterrey, Mexico, Chelsea Green and NXT North American Champion Ethan Page defeated Mr. Iguana and La Hiedra to capture the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship.
You can watch the ending of the match below:
¡Tenemos NUEVOS Campeones de Parejas Mixtas AAA! ETHAN PAGE y CHELSEA GREEN 🤯🤯🤯#AlianzasAAA 💫 en Showcenter pic.twitter.com/RFjDtuykb1
— Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (@luchalibreaaa) November 3, 2025
Here’s how the duo reacted to their win:
🚨 NEW AAA MIXED TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS! @ImChelseaGreen & @OfficialEGO just became @luchalibreaaa Mixed Tag Team Champions and as you can see, they’re being very humble about it… 👀🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/jdglA4EfBZ
— WWE (@WWE) November 3, 2025
This marks Chelsea Green’s first championship victory since becoming the inaugural Women’s United States Champion last year. It also makes Ethan Page one of the only two wrestlers currently holding titles in both WWE and AAA, alongside AAA Mega and Intercontinental Champion “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio.
WWE Tag Team Champions The Wyatt Sicks have also been eyeing success in the Mexican promotion as they recently attacked AAA World Tag Team Champions Pagano and Psycho Clown.
• Absent WWE Star Was Backstage At SmackDown
Bianca Belair has been out of action since suffering a fractured finger during a Triple Threat Match for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 41 in April.
Her most recent main roster appearance was at the Evolution Premium Live Event, where she served as Special Guest Referee for the No Holds Barred match between Naomi and Jade Cargill. She also made an appearance at NXT Homecoming in September.
The EST of WWE has been sidelined longer than expected, with no official return date announced. This is likely due to a slower-than-anticipated recovery.
According to Fightful Select, Belair was backstage at SmackDown at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City this past Friday, though the reason for her presence remains unknown.
