As noted, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was not backstage for Monday’s RAW in Chicago, but he reportedly made major changes to the show script virtually, and the changes led to talent unhappiness. It was noted hat the unhappiness was not at the level of a few weeks back, but it was “bubbling towards that direction.”
In an update, a new report from PWInsider notes that McMahon changed the finishes to a number of matches. In some cases, the change was related to how the matches would get to their finishes, and in others, the change was made to who was originally going to win.
The creative plans with Bad Bunny remained as originally planned, and Damian Priest vs. 2023 WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio was always scheduled to be the main event.
One match added to RAW after McMahon’s changes was The Street Profits vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin.
It was noted that there were also a number of segments nixed that involved female Superstars. WWE also cut several female segments from last week’s RAW, which led to unhappiness among some of the wrestlers as the changes were made late in the day.
The pre-RAW rundown sheet issued backstage had a backstage segment planned with WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus, Piper Niven and Candice LeRae, to air after the video package on Stratus and before the WWE World Heavyweight Title segment with WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H. Niven and LeRae did not appear with Stratus, but she was interviewed by Cathy Kelley. The internal run sheet also did not include the earlier backstage segment with Damage CTRL and RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, but the later match with Damage CTRL losing to Belair and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez was listed. Another nixed segment would have seen Adam Pearce backstage with several female talents, including Sonya Deville. This was cut as the decision was made to utilize that time to instead set up the aforementioned six-woman tag team match.
The various backstage segments with The Usos and Solo Sikoa were also not listed on the internal run sheet, and the same goes for the backstage segments with Matt Riddle and Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, plus the segment with Jey Uso and Sami.
For what it’s worth, Zelina Vega was backstage for RAW but not used with The LWO. Her WWE Backlash match with SmackDown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley was promoted, but Ripley also did not appear with The Judgment Day. Ripley indicated on Instagram that she was with family, perhaps due to the recent passing of her grandmother.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more.
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