WWE reportedly made significant last-minute changes to the opening of the October 20, 2025 episode of RAW in Sacramento, California, where Seth Rollins was officially stripped of the World Heavyweight Championship.
The show opened with General Manager Adam Pearce in the ring, prepared to deliver a major announcement regarding the status of the World Heavyweight Title. Before Pearce could speak, Bron Breakker appeared backstage with the championship belt in hand, accompanied by Bronson Reed and Paul Heyman. The trio made their way to the ring, setting up a chaotic confrontation.
Pearce then confirmed that Rollins had suffered a legitimate shoulder injury requiring surgery, forcing him to vacate the championship.
According to TC of WrestleVotes Radio, the segment that aired was not what WWE had originally planned.
“A source backstage at #WWERaw in Sacramento tells me there were a lot of late changes to the opening segment where Adam Pearce stripped Seth Rollins of the World Heavyweight Championship. Original plans had things playing out differently than what we ultimately saw on screen,” the report stated.
A source backstage at #WWERaw in Sacramento tells me there were a lot of late changes to the opening segment where Adam Pearce stripped Seth Rollins of the World Heavyweight Championship.
Original plans had things playing out differently than what we ultimately saw on screen.
— TC | WrestleVotes (@TCwrestlevotes) October 21, 2025
While the details of the scrapped version remain unclear, the broadcast segment showed Pearce reclaiming the title from Breakker, who had been flaunting it since he and Reed turned on Rollins the previous week.
Heyman then delivered a fiery promo to position Breakker and Reed as dominant new forces following Rollins’ injury, marking the official beginning of a new creative direction for the group.
The sudden rewrite is part of a broader creative overhaul triggered by Rollins’ legitimate injury, which is expected to sideline him for several months — potentially through WrestleMania 42 next April.
WWE has since announced that a new World Heavyweight Champion will be crowned on November 1st at Saturday Night’s Main Event, where Jey Uso will face CM Punk in a one-on-one match for the vacant title.
