Nikkita Lyons Denies She Missed WWE SmackDown Due To Not Being Vaccinated

WWE made a late change to the 1200th episode of SmackDown from Montreal on Friday, August 19. 

Natalya and Sonya Deville were initially booked to face NXT's Zoey Stark and Nikkita Lyons in the first round of the Women's Tag Team Title Tournament on SmackDown but the match was scrapped ahead of the show, with Stark and Lyons being replaced by Toxic Attraction's Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne. 

The two-time NXT Tag Team Champions would then pick up the win on SmackDown, advancing to the second round. 

Following Lyons and Stark being pulled from the show, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reported that Stark suffered a concussion during her NXT Women's Title match with Mandy Rose at Heatwave and was not cleared to compete. Stark could not simply be replaced, however, as Lyons is reportedly unvaccinated and was, therefore, unable to travel to Canada.

Lyons denied that was the case, though, first stating on Twitter that she missed the show due to 'medical complications' before she wrote: 'Yes, it didn't have anything to do with the vaccine. One day I may do a live on ig or something and share. I hope you have a blessed night.'

Nikkita Lyons has been a part of WWE since August of 2021 and she has established herself as a popular talent on NXT. She was most recently in action on August 9 when she defeated Kiana James.