Video: WWE Titleholder Announces Unexpected Absence From Tonight's WWE SmackDown

A WWE champion won't be present for Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown," due to what appears to be a medical issue. One half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, Austin Theory, posted a story to Instagram on Friday, about two hours prior to "SmackDown" airing on Fox, appearing to have a swollen face. "Missing SmackDown," Theory captioned the video with a sad faced emoji, before opening his mouth and poking his cheek.

Theory's tag team partner and the other half of the tag team champions, Grayson Waller, posted a video to his X account, saying Theory had undergone "pretty serious dental surgery" that was caused by #DIY's Tommasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano on last week's episode of "SmackDown" from Glasgow, Scotland. Waller said he was unsure when his partner would return to the show.

Theory's partner and the other half of the tag team champions, Grayon Waller, posted a video to his X account, saying Theory had undergone "pretty serious dental surgery" that was caused by Ciampa and Gargano on last week's episode of "SmackDown." A rift has been growing between Theory and Waller, with Theory's name not appearing on a sign for the "Grayson Waller Effect" segment on last week's episode of "SmackDown," which featured #DIY. During the segment, Waller said that Theory didn't need him before taking out Gargano, but Theory had to save his partner from being taken out by Ciampa. Theory was then superkicked by Gargano after protecting Waller, then hit with a running knee by Ciampa.