Backstage News On Major Changes To WWE Survivor Series Plans
Two weeks ago Roman Reigns announced to the fans on RAW that he would be vacating the WWE Universal Championship to go battle leukemia for the second time. In the immediate aftermath, changes were made to the WWE Crown Jewel WWE Universal Championship match. The match would go from being a triple threat to a singles bout featuring Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar competing for the then-vacant WWE Universal Championship. Lesnar would go on to capture the WWE Universal Championship for the second time in his WWE career.
Reigns vacating the WWE Universal Championship also led WWE to making some drastic changes to their Survivor Series plans, according to popular "insider" Twitter account @WrestleVotes. Apparently, the original plans were never to do a RAW versus SmackDown Live theme for the PPV, which is what this year's show has become. Vince McMahon is said to have been against a Reigns vs. AJ Styles "champion vs. champion" match so the interbrand approach was "out the window."
The change in direction for Survivor Series appears to have been a quick one. In the midst of the changes, the rumored Team Kurt Angle versus Team Baron Corbin match may have been put on ice and is to be determined. A women's RAW vs SmackDown match was announced this past Tuesday night by Paige and Charlotte Flair turned down the opportunity to captain the blue brand.
Another big rumored bout for Survivor Series was Shawn Michaels facing The Undertaker. According to @WrestleVotes, Michaels was willing to work another match, or two, after Crown Jewel if things went well in the tag match. Triple H apparently tore his pec and due to his injury, a bout between Michaels and Undertaker may be in jeopardy as well since everything didn't necessarily go well. Following Crown Jewel, Michaels commented to WWE cameras in a backstage video that he was looking to get back to his regular life and did not plan on wrestling again.
You can find @WrestleVotes full tweet below:
Some thoughts / insight as to Survivor Series. Easier to get it all in one tweet, reason for the notepad image. pic.twitter.com/kSanNNQ4v4
? WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) November 4, 2018