Last week’s WWE SmackDown marked its debut in the three-hour format, airing live from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ. The episode featured several major moments, including Tiffany Stratton cashing in her Money in the Bank contract to defeat Nia Jax and capture the Women’s Championship. Other highlights included a non-title match between United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Andrade, as well as a six-man tag team match that continued the unfolding Bloodline saga.
However, behind the scenes, the show faced unexpected challenges due to injuries and illness, prompting last-minute changes to the lineup. Speaking on The Press Box, Paul “Triple H” Levesque shed light on the adjustments WWE had to make.
“If the last 30 years of my life have taught me anything, it’s nothing is pinned down. There used to be a saying here all the time, show me the stone it’s written on. All of this stuff, wo do…I like to do a lot of creative in whiteboards. So when we get together for long-term creative, there might be ten whiteboards down a row in a long room, and we’re all sitting at a table because, at any point in time, you’re looking. Does that make sense? It’s like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle. You have to keep going back to the box to look at the picture you’re trying to put the pieces in. You write something, like I said, you can have it written out, and Bronson Reed breaks his ankle. I’ll give it to you this way. This Friday night, we had the show written up, and it was really good, and it moved a lot of stories forward, and then we get word talent are injured, and it’s, went in for an MRI and it’s worse than we thought, and he’s out. Okay, alright. So we got to rewrite that whole storyline. Then we’re literally finishing the production meeting, and we just said, all right guys, have a great day, and my phone buzzes, and I look down, and it’s medical, and I get the ‘So-and-so has flu really bad. We’re telling them don’t come to the building and sending them home. Cannot work.’ Everybody, don’t go anywhere. Sit back down because we gotta rewrite that aspect of the show. That’s constant. So do I have in my mind an idea of…do we have WrestleMania written out? Yes. Do I think it will change? 100%. Do I have a plan B? Yes. Do I have a plan C? Yes. Do I think those are completely relevant? No. There could be changes where all of that stuff at any given moment. We just do like, all right, erase all the whiteboards, and let’s start over. It’s just the nature of the beast. It’s what we do.”
Triple H’s comments highlight the unpredictability of live programming and WWE’s ability to adapt on the fly to deliver high-quality entertainment. Despite the setbacks, SmackDown maintained its momentum, leaving fans eager for what’s next in its new three-hour format.
You can check out the complete interview below:
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
