Why WWE Scrapped Raw Underground This Week

No Underground, no problem...

WWE Raw Underground
WWE.com

There were no Raw Underground segments on this week's episode of WWE's former flagship show, with Shane McMahon's "gritty" fight club canned one week after SmackDown's Braun Strowman had stepped into the basement to face rising monster Dabba-Kato, whom he felled in a couple of minutes.

Fightful Select have issued a report stating that Underground was cancelled as WWE was short on available wrestlers following the recent COVID-19 outbreak at the Performance Center. While the promotion typically records these segments in advance, the number of performers in quarantine after either testing positive, or coming into contact with somebody who has, led to them deciding they didn't need Underground on this week's show.

Whether or not Underground will resume next week is yet to be confirmed.

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The recent outbreak has had a noticeable impact on WWE programming, with the entire RETRIBUTION stable absent from Raw, Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax vs. The Riott Squad and Bayley vs. Nikki Cross pulled from Clash of Champions, and now Underground's temporary postponement. There is no indication that any of the mentioned wrestlers have tested positive, though RETRIBUTION, Baszler, and Jax are known to have been in proximity to somebody suffering from the virus.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.