As PWMania.com previously reported, plans for WWE RAW and Main Event were altered “several times over” Monday night in Norfolk, VA. Natalya vs. Zoey Stark and Bronson Reed vs. Riddick Moss were the original plans for the Main Event tapings. WWE dropped Natalya vs. Stark in favor of Reed vs. Moss. The Viking Raiders vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin match was moved from RAW to Main Event. RAW’s original plan was for Cody Rhodes to open the show. WWE had previously stated that Rhodes would explain why he invited Jey Uso to RAW. Instead, Jey opened this week’s show, which was then interrupted by Kevin Owens and The Judgment Day. Due to a misunderstanding, Uso and Owens lost a non-title match to Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Damien Priest and Finn Balor.
Rhodes eventually appeared shortly after 9:30 p.m. He went to talk about Uso when WWE NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio interrupted, bringing JD McDonagh with him. Mysterio went on to say that Uso will join The Judgment Day and make Rhodes look foolish. This prompted Rhodes to attack Mysterio, but McDonagh then hit Rhodes from behind. Rhodes fought them both, landing Cody Cutters on Mysterio and CrossRhodes on McDonagh. Rhodes then performed a CrossRhodes on Mysterio before being dragged to safety by McDonagh.
As noted, Wrestling Observer Radio reportedthat Chairman Vince McMahon “is back” and is responsible for the majority of the changes at RAW. The “Vince is back” narrative is incomplete because he has not been physically present at RAW in a regular role for months, and he has frequently checked in remotely with changes or suggestions. McMahon took a break after undergoing major spinal surgery in late July, but he was back calling script changes as recently as last week’s SmackDown.
These changes are fairly common, but every now and then, reports are exaggerated and then used to support a narrative. While McMahon made numerous changes to the show, WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H also made changes throughout the day, and word from RAW was that the changes were likely for the better.
According to PWInsider, McMahon was not at RAW because the show was run by Triple H and Creative’s Executive Director Bruce Prichard, as has been the norm recently. According to their report, the RAW script was not completed until 5 p.m. ET, with “lots of matches and segments shifted, added, and dropped” until then.
WWE insider Boozer Rasslin reported that the final RAW script was approved around 6 p.m., and that it was the show’s second draft. The first draft featured a few different matches/segments, but otherwise it was business as usual. The story about “Vince being back in charge of creative” was also shot down.
According to a new report from Fightful Select, while Rhodes’ segment was no longer the show’s opener, he still received the same amount of time as planned. The Vikings vs. Benjamin and Alexander match was supposed to take place after the Shayna Baszler vs. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Chelsea Green match, but Imperium vs. Alpha Academy and Tommaso Ciampa took its place instead.
Shawn Daivari was set to produce Natalya vs. Stark. This match’s plans changed several times throughout the day, but it was eventually pulled from the Main Event. Natalya was used in a backstage segment with Raquel Rodriguez, and Stark ended up working with Baszler. After stepping up and pulling double duty at WWE Superstar Spectacular in India when Becky Lynch was unable to make the trip, there was a feeling that bringing Natalya to RAW and not using her in any capacity would have been disrespectful.
There were some time changes that resulted in the presentation of the main event between Rodriguez and WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley being delayed. Furthermore, two segments were not listed with specifics internally: one after the opening tag match, which appears to be the Drew McIntyre – Xavier Woods segment, and one after Imperium vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Alpha Academy, which appears to be the backstage contract signing for Becky Lynch vs. NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton. However, the Lynch – Stratton segment and several Uso segments were budgeted for those times.
On a related note, the final WWE TV taping under total McMahon Family control passed without any mention of the big Endeavor acquisition for the WWE-UFC merger to form TKO Group Holdings. Nothing about today’s merger was communicated to the RAW roster, including no meeting, announcement, or acknowledgement.
