Original Plan for Lars Sullivan, Strowman Latest, Backstage at SD

As most WWE fans are aware of by now, NXT Superstar Lars Sullivan will be joining the main roster very soon. His debut has been hyped up on WWE programming through vignettes ever since Survivor Series, but his original call-ups plans were a bit different. According to Wrestling Observer Live, Sullivan was supposed to make his main roster debut in the 2019 men’s Royal Rumble match. The current vignettes for Lars were meant to air towards the end of the year, and it would have led to Sullivan picking which brand he will join during the Rumble match. Vince McMahon was reportedly so impressed with the vignettes that he decided to start airing the Lars Sullivan vignettes on TV about a month earlier then planned.
Raw Superstar Braun Strowman’s status for TLC has remained in doubt over the past few weeks. Strowman is still recovering from his elbow surgery, but WWE is still advertising him in a match against Baron Corbin for their next pay-per-view. According to an update from PWInsider, “The Monster Among Men” was present for yesterday’s SmackDown show in Austin, Texas. Strowman did not appear on the show at all last night, but WWE typically brings injured talent backstage during shows so that their team of doctors can evaluate them one more time before officially clearing them to return to action. If Strowman was cleared yesterday, then he should be set for his match against Corbin at TLC on December 16th.
Braun Strowman was far from the only notable name who was backstage for the SmackDown show last night. Countless examples of wrestlers and celebrities visiting the backstage area on WWE shows have been made, but PWInsider discovered that numerous WWE stars and alumni were in attendance for the event in Texas this week. The report notes that WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry was backstage, as was Maryse, The Undertaker, Michelle McCool, and Christian. Some of the names listed previously were in town to work on the Tribute to the Troops festivities which took place earlier in the day in Fort Hood, Texas. Others were likely just simply in town and stopped by the event to meet up with their colleagues.