If you’ve liked WWE Raw over the last couple of weeks, you might be in luck.
Fightful had reported three weeks ago that WWE Raw was feeling more of a Triple H influence unimpeded than recent months. It’s since been revealed that Ari Emanuel wanted that, as Vince McMahon is on other tasks, and Triple H is leading the charge creatively.
What we’ve seen since is numerous talent returning to the show, long-signed wrestlers finally making their debuts, several cameos, more women’s talent getting on screened, longer matches, and less restrictions in the ring.
WWE sources told Fightful that they expect that continue, and the adjustments seemed “overnight.” Even though Vince McMahon didn’t interact directly with creative this year, his influence was felt throughout that period, especially with people who would and wouldn’t appear on the show.
One WWE source said that they felt the matches that have been on the show the last few weeks between Ivar and Kofi Kingston, Ricochet and Shinsuke Nakamura and GUNTHER and Bronson Reed were very important in establishing the in-ring aspect of WWE Raw.
While one writer had said that many of the Vince McMahon changes were minimal throughout the year, we’re told that the adjustments have freshened up things and relaxed the process now that Raw has a much more wide open roster of talent to implement and use. Outside of Raw After Mania (which internally was viewed as a creative disaster), McMahon wasn’t making changes in person, instead doing it remotely. Even though there was a long reputation of Vince making last minute changes, it would also happen throughout the weekend, as we saw with the nixed DIY reunion from the Summer. When McMahon would learn the creative plans, remote adjustments would be made along the way, and he would indicate wrestlers he did or didn’t want on the show.
One writer said “well, I guess he wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t in the weeds, but in a way, he just sprayed roundup on the weeds and checked in on them every so often.”
Talent that we spoke to since this article was published say that things have been much more straightforward since the TKO merger, and are more like they were in the last half of 2022 as opposed to the first nine months of 2023.
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