Vince McMahon Backstage At WWE Raw, Huge Last-Minute Changes
Disgraced former WWE Chairman and CEO returns to Raw.
Vince McMahon is currently in the midst of a huge victory lap following WWE's Endeavor takeover, and the disgraced former Chairman and CEO was backstage at last night's Raw.
McMahon conducted interviews Monday about the announced sale of WWE to UFC parent company Endeavor, a merger that puts both combat promotions under the same umbrella and creates a new company, with Vince as one of the top bosses. During those interviews, McMahon admitted that he would be involved in WWE creative only "on a higher level" but he wouldn't get "in the weeds."
But it was Raw where fans really got to see what this actually could mean going forward.
WrestleVotes reported prior to the show hitting the airwaves that Raw would have a "large Vince McMahon feel and presence to it":-
I’m hearing that for the first time in months, tonight’s show has a large Vince McMahon feel and presence to it. Big weekend for the boss continues.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) April 3, 2023
Whereas several episodes of Raw under Triple H had the creative finished hours, even more than a day before airtime, the Raw after WrestleMania saw "a ton of late changes," according to Fightful Select. Originally, two triple threat matches to name a new challenger for the Raw Women's Championship were slated for the show, but those were scrapped in favor of a tag match to name a new #1 contender for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.
Fightful also noted that Vince was at Raw, sitting in the gorilla position at least for the opening segment.
While it was reported earlier that Cody Rhodes would indeed have a mystery tag partner to face Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa, Fightful had indicated that as of Sunday night, Raw was to have shown Cody calling someone, presumably to be his partner. On Raw Monday night, Brock Lesnar walked out in the opening segment to agree to be his partner... and then turned on him before the main event.
In addition to the two triple threats being cut, Bayley was supposed to accompany Damage CTRL to the ring but was cut at the last minute. And as of Sunday night, there was supposed to be LWO integration into the show, but the faction didn't appear, and they didn't run out to save Rey Mysterio and Bad Bunny from a Judgment Day beatdown.
Another late addition to the show was the Omos versus Elias squash. While a Raw immediately after a two-day PLE likely could have some last-minute changes, these are far more changes than we've been accustomed to under Triple H's watch.
This week's Raw was poorly received by many fans and critics alike, so one can only hope that WWE personnel recognize this quickly.