Vince McMahon To Return On WWE SmackDown

The chairman will 'moderate' a face-to-face between Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles.

by Benjamin Richardson
Vince McMahon Daniel Bryan AJ Styles SmackDown
WWE

WWE have announced that head honcho Vince McMahon will be back on SmackDown this coming week.

WWE Champion Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles are already scheduled for a tête-à-tête on this Tuesday's show, and with tensions apparently reaching breaking point, only famed diplomatic McMahon can be depended upon to moderate the debate.

Don't expect things to pass off smoothly, in other words.

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McMahon has been a more regular presence on WWE TV in recent weeks, since his 17 December return to Raw to "shake things up" - or, more accurately, attempt to arrest the worrying ratings slide. Since then, he has made a number of on-screen appearances, most recently confronting Braun Strowman over a smashed limo.

WWE's new multi-million dollar television deal taking SmackDown to FOX begins this October. One suspects there is some anxiety in head office over the company's troubled TV numbers, which explains why we've seen a hypocritical return to Attitude-era objectification recently, and is almost certainly the reason behind Vince's SmackDown sojourn.

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Over the past six months, SmackDown has averaged just over two million viewers. Last week's show drew a reassuring 2,143,000 viewers, albeit unopposed.

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.