Update On TNA’s Leon Slater Competing On WWE SmackDown In London

As previously reported, TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater answered Carmelo Hayes’ United States Championship Open Challenge this Friday on WWE SmackDown. The show was held at OVO Arena Wembley in London, England.

Slater was initially slated to battle Myron Reed on Thursday Night iMPACT’s debut on the AMC Network, but he was quietly pulled from the show and subsequently replaced by Joe Hendry in his scheduled match at tonight’s Genesis PPV.

Fightful Select is reporting that Slater was pulled from the aforementioned events, as he was among several TNA talents with visa issues. With the English professional wrestler back home, the company “allowed WWE” to book him for SmackDown.

Slater delivered an impressive performance against Hayes but ultimately came up short, as the defending champion executed a top-rope cutter to retain his gold. Leon Slater has been a regular feature on WWE’s programming in recent times. He competed at last month’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, a show that featured John Cena’s retirement match. Slater teamed up with Je’Von Evans to take on the then-World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Dragon Lee. Earlier this month, the reigning X-Division Champion challenged Oba Femi for the NXT Title at New Year’s Evil.

.@LEONSLATER_ has answered @Carmelo_WWE's Open Challenge! 👏 pic.twitter.com/hlBxlsJLMn

— WWE (@WWE) January 17, 2026