WWE pulls Nikkita Lyons from SmackDown for reportedly being unvaccinated

Lyons was initially advertised to wrestle on SmackDown.

It's being reported that Nikkita Lyons would not have been able to appear on this week's SmackDown as she is unvaccinated.

Lyons and her tag team partner, Zoey Stark, were originally slated to face Natalya & Sonya Deville in the ongoing Women's Tag Team Championship tournament.

Stark, unfortunately, suffered a concussion during her match against Mandy Rose at NXT Heatwave on Tuesday and was not given medical clearance to compete on SmackDown.

Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne were brought in as replacements, and the Toxic Attraction members picked up a massive win on their first night out on the Blue brand.

As for Nikkita Lyons, WWE officials did not realize that she was unvaccinated, which is an issue as people who have not taken a single COVID-19 vaccine are not permitted to enter Canada.

Lyons would probably not have been able to appear at the SmackDown show in Montreal even if Zoey Stark was cleared to wrestle, as Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Radio below:

"Stark suffered a concussion in her match Tuesday [NXT Heatwave] with Mandy Rose and wasn't cleared. Lyons wouldn't have been allowed to go as they didn't realize she wasn't vaccinated and thus couldn't get into Canada."

Everything happens for a reason 💔🦁 @ZoeyStarkWWE I got your back 💯 good luck tonight @gigidolin_wwe and @jacyjaynewwe 💫😤 twitter.com/shawnmichaels/…

Nikkita Lyons has experienced a great start to her WWE career

Having signed with WWE in 2021 after spending two years in Women of Wrestling (WOW), Nikkita Lyons has already amassed a sizeable fan following in NXT.

Despite losing on her WWE debut, Lyons quickly gathered momentum on NXT TV by picking up a series of victories starting in January this year.

The superstar's push in NXT coincided with the revamp of the developmental brand, and she was one of the female stars who received more on-screen time.

Lyons recently also celebrated her first anniversary in WWE and even mentioned Triple H in a heartfelt tweet.

Exactly ONE year ago today, I signed with @WWE . Moved to Orlando a month later. Had some complications that I’d love to share one day. Been 9 months since I started training with the company and I’m extremely grateful.

THANK YOU @TripleH and @WWE ! You changed my life. 🦁❤️🙏🏼 https://t.co/dgxNUdKxr2

The 23-year-old superstar is one of the fastest-rising superstars in NXT, who seemingly has a bright future on the main roster.

Do you foresee Nikkita Lyons having a successful run on RAW or SmackDown in the future? Sound off in the comments section below.