Vince McMahon's Involvement In WWE Raw Creative Deals Massive Blow To Locker Room Morale
Monday's post-WrestleMania edition of "WWE Raw" was widely panned by viewers, and it looks like WWE talent felt the same way. Between Vince McMahon being back in charge and both reports and off-air footage suggesting that changes were being made as the show was airing, this isn't necessarily surprising, but on Tuesday afternoon, Fightful Select published a new report detailing the specifics.
Per the report, talent was assured for months, and following the announcement of WWE's purchase by Endeavor, that McMahon would not be part of creative despite working his way back into the company, and that Paul "Triple H" Levesque would still be the one producing shows from the "Gorilla Position" behind the entrance set. On Monday, McMahon was clearly running things, including taking over "Gorilla" and making changes throughout the show, as well as having had an office at all WWE shows over WrestleMania weekend. This also came after McMahon said he would not be "in the weeds" of the creative process in his CNBC interview that aired hours earlier.
The changes to the show began after the talent meeting at 6:00 pm ET and the start of "Raw" two hours later, the kind of late changes that hadn't previously happened under the Levesque regime. Matches to determine the next challenger for the "Raw" Women's Championship were scratched late and replaced by the match to determine the top contenders for the WWE Women's Tag Titles, and Bayley was cut from her role at ringside. Fightful Select notes that "several of the women on the roster grew frustrated by the adjustment."
Some WWE talent considering asking for their release
In addition, "many staff and talent" felt the changes were "demoralizing," with the report also noting that "In all, this was the biggest hit to morale since Vince McMahon left his spot last year, and probably the lowest point of morale in totality since pre-WrestleMania in 2022 when it reached near all-time lows." Various segments were cut and Omos vs. Elias was a late addition.
"We're told Omos was in catering, and wasn't planning on wrestling, then the late change happened, and there was a scramble to make sure he had gear to compete in," Fightful wrote. "An old Vince McMahon rule was to always bring your gear, and always stay til the end of the show, largely because he was constantly changing things."
One source described as a "higher up" told Fightful that "SmackDown" in Portland, Oregon, on Friday will be a big test since McMahon wasn't already scheduled to be in town, as he was in L.A. for WrestleMania weekend. Going out of his way to travel to Portland would be a strong sign that he's going to be involved with creative on a day-to-day basis, as opposed to Monday being a case of McMahon ripping up the show because he happened to be there. The report also added that "at least two talent, including one near the top of the card" told Fightful that if this becomes "a trend," they'll ask for releases from their contracts, while a different wrestler said they would just try to get to the end of their contract before leaving. "Multiple wrestlers" were described as "already exploring what their options would be" if McMahon was an ongoing presence.