Backstage Note On Major "Last Minute" WWE Title Decision
This recent WWE booking decision came right down to the wire.
WWE's decision to unify its Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships wasn't made until the last minute.
Per Dave Meltzer on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, had no specific plan in mind for last week's SmackDown bout pitting Raw champions RK-Bro against their SmackDown counterparts, The Usos, ahead of the Friday broadcast. The company's creative team spent time going back and forth on the outcome before Vince McMahon ultimately made the decision to double-strap The Usos, who defeated Riddle and Randy Orton during the broadcast.
WWE had originally teased this unification match for WrestleMania Backlash 2022. That premium live event instead saw The Usos team with Roman Reigns (who unified the WWE and Universal Championships at WrestleMania 38) face off against Riddle, Orton, and Drew McIntyre.
Meltzer states that RK-Bro vs. The Usos played out the way it did in order to facilitate the post-match angle, which saw Reigns and his cousins beat the now-former Raw Tag Team Champions down, setting Riddle and Orton up as challengers for Roman's Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
On 9 May, Meltzer had reported that at the time of publishing, WWE had no plans to unify its Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Titles.