Report: Why Robert Roode Hasn't Been On WWE TV Revealed
SmackDown has been less glorious in his absence...
May 18, 2020
In early 2020, Robert Roode was prominently featured on Friday Night SmackDown alongside Dolph Ziggler and King Corbin as they clashed with Roman Reigns and The Usos. The former NXT Champion then teamed with Ziggler at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in the namesake match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. However, Roode hasn't appeared on WWE TV since.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this is because The Glorious One lives in Canada and he has been unable to travel to the United States. Non-essential cross-border travel in North America has been suspended since March 21 because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Brock Lesnar also lives in Canada, but Meltzer noted that WWE pulled some strings which allowed him to compete at WrestleMania 36 in his WWE Championship match against Drew McIntyre.
The cross-border travel suspension is in place until May 19, but whether Roode is able to travel to the Performance Center remains to be seen as Canada and the United States are currently in negotiations about extending the suspension into June.
