Tag: RAW

Mick Foley Introduced New WWE 24/7 Title

Last night on WWE RAW, Mick Foley unveiled the newest WWE Championship –  the 24/7 title.

Foley kicked off the segment talking about how RAW has lost something. He then pulled out the green-strapped 24/7 Championship and explained that the belt has the same rules as the old Hardcore title.

This means the champ has to defend the belt at all times as long as a referee is present.

Mick claimed the third hour of RAW every week will start to get “downright mean and nasty” and a “little bit dirty” and that whoever could grab the belt from the center of the ring would be the first champion. This ended up being Titus O’Neil, then was pinned by Robert Roode. Throughout the show, Roode was running and hiding from a group of wrestlers coming for the title. Later R-Truth helped him hide in the trunk of his car as Truth sent the others in the wrong direction. Truth let him out and Roode opened the car door and a referee got out and truth pinned Roode to become the new 24/7 champion and drove off.

Competitors from RAW, SmackDown, 205 Live, NXT, NXT UK and WWE legends are eligible to compete for the new title.

This brings the total number of main roster titles to 11.

WWE RAW Preview 5/20/19

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Times Union Center in Albany, NY will fallout from Money in the Bank.

* Welcome to the era of “Mr. Money in the Beast”

* WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley to unveil a new WWE Title

* Uso Rules – The Usos weigh challenge from The Revival and non-title win over SmackDown Tag Team Champions Rowan and Daniel Bryan

* Becky One Belt – It seems Becky vs. Lacey is about to start a furious second act

Mick Foley To Introduce New Title On RAW

WWE will be introducing a brand new title on Monday’s WWE RAW episode.

There’s no word yet on what the new title will be, but WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley will be there to introduce it.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1130262413578608640

Braun Strowman Reportedly Injured, Backstage News On Why He Was Pulled From WWE Money In The Bank

Sami Zayn defeated Braun Strowman in the Falls Count Anywhere main event of last night’s RAW to earn Braun’s spot in the men’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match at the May 19 WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view.

Strowman is currently dealing with an injury, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, but that is not why he was pulled from the match. There’s no word yet on injury details, but Strowman could be working through some sort of biceps or triceps injury.

Regarding Strowman losing his Money In the Bank spot to Zayn, Meltzer reported that the removal was a part of a longer storyline that will play out over the next month or so. Strowman is working hurt, but the injury is not bad enough that he needs to take any time off right now.

There’s been a lot of speculation on Strowman’s WWE future as of late. He reportedly received heat from WWE officials after winning the 6th Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35. The end of the match was said to be a mess as Strowman forgot some of his spots. It was reported in late April that the botched spots are why Strowman hasn’t had much of a push since winning the Battle Royal.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Bray Wyatt Reveals His Dark Secret On WWE RAW (Video)

Bray Wyatt revealed his dark secret during last night’s “Firefly Fun House” segment on WWE RAW.

The segment featured Mercy The Buzzard, Abby The Witch and Ramblin’ Rabbit, despite the apparent demise of Rabbit on last week’s show.

Wyatt noted that fireflies helping him is what warms his soul, but he still has some darkness in his head. Wyatt added that he knows how to harness that darkness and control it. That’s when he revealed the bizarre new look, which you can see in the video.

WWE RAW Preview 5/13/19

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the 02 Arena in London, England with the final hype for WWE Money In the Bank. Since the show is in London it will be taped today to air tonight.

* Double contract signing for Becky Two Belts

Roman Reigns returns for “Miz TV”

* Women’s Fatal 4-Way Match for “Money” momentum

* Ricochet takes flight against Baron Corbin

* Braun Strowman locks up with Drew McIntyre

* Seth Rollins and AJ Styles brace for monumental title collision

* Rambling Rabbit rambles no more

Update On Vince McMahon’s New WWE Wild Card Rule And A Potential Issue For The Company

Vince McMahon’s new WWE Wild Card Rule could end up leading to issues for the company, as described on Wrestling Observer Radio today.

As noted, the rule will see four RAW Superstars appear on SmackDown each week while four SmackDown Superstars appear on RAW each week. The gimmick was created as a response to ratings pressure from NBCUniversal (USA Network) and Fox. Vince did not want to give up the idea of separate brands, but the networks want star power on both shows and there has been a feeling that the brands don’t have enough star power individually. Furthermore, it was also reported that Fox wants RAW and SmackDown storylines on the blue brand show when it goes to their network on Friday nights in October. There has been pressure from both networks to have the top WWE Superstars work both shows.

The Wild Card Rule will potentially cause issues for WWE live events, such as false advertising. Due to the way WWE creative operates these days, WWE likely won’t plan out these weekly Wild Card Rule appearances in advance, which could lead to incidents where Superstars have been advertised for live events, for weeks or even months, but they’re pulled from those live events to appear on TV at the last minute.

While WWE likely won’t plan out the Wild Card Rule appearances in advance, it was noted that Roman Reigns is expected to appear on both RAW and SmackDown often. We noted before how NBCU recently asked questions about why WWE gave up a star like Reigns to SmackDown in the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up.

We’ve reported on how WWE has made recent hires to help bring live event business back up, and they noted during the Q1 2019 earnings call that they are focused on bringing that part of the business back to where it should be. The WWE Wild Card Rule could create more of a decline in live event business, at a time where they’re focused on getting it back up. There’s no word yet on if the Wild Card Rule really will help with the TV ratings, but we should know within the next few weeks. It’s believed that the gimmick could bring a small increase in the numbers, but likely not a huge turn around.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Made Change On Uploading Video Content From RAW & SmackDown On YouTube Reportedly To Help With Drop In Ratings

You may have noticed how WWE did not upload any YouTube videos from this week’s RAW and SmackDown episodes until late in the show. This was done as a way to potentially help combat the drop in ratings, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

The current plan is to cut back on the amount of uploads to YouTube during the RAW and SmackDown episodes. The feeling is that uploading videos as matches and segments happen on TV is potentially hurting the ratings.

WWE usually uploads clips from RAW and SmackDown matches shortly after they happen on TV, but that was not the case this week. WWE started uploading the first clips from Monday night’s show late into the third hour. All clips from RAW were uploaded within an hour of the show going off the air, which isn’t far from how they usually do it.

The big difference was that there were no YouTube clips from RAW while it was still airing on the USA Network, until the final hour. While WWE is changing their policy on YouTube uploads, at least for now, it looks like things will not change on Twitter. WWE uploaded photos and videos as usual on Twitter with content going up as it aired on TV.

As noted, WWE is currently facing pressure to bring the ratings back up from NBCUniversal (USA Network) and Fox. This is part of the reason why Vince McMahon introduced the Wild Card Rule.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Introduced Wild Card Rule On RAW And SmackDown To Help With Star Power Concerns From Fox And USA

Vince McMahon’s new Wild Card Rule on WWE TV is a response to ratings pressure from NBCUniversal (USA Network) and Fox, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Vince McMahon reportedly did not want to give up the idea of separate brands. As noted, the Wild Card Rule will see 4 RAW Superstars be eligible to appear on SmackDown each week while 4 SmackDown Superstars are able to appear on RAW each week.

WWE has been facing outside pressure from NBCU and Fox to bring the ratings up. The networks will not be happy with how bad the ratings are this coming fall because of how much money they are paying WWE. Fox and NBCU want star power on the shows and there has been a feeling that the brands don’t have enough star power individually.

It was also noted that Fox wants RAW and SmackDown storylines on the blue brand show when it goes to their network on Friday nights in October. NBCU was reportedly upset about the recent drop in ratings, especially for the third hour, and they were asking questions about the decline, specifically why they would give away a top star like Roman Reigns to SmackDown. There has been pressure from NBCU and Fox to have the top WWE Superstars work both shows.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

RAW Head Writer Ryan Callahan Fired From WWE

WWE RAW head writer Ryan Callahan was released last week, according to new reports from Pro Wrestling Sheet and Fightful. Callahan, who previously worked on The Bachelor and Monster Laws, among other shows, had been with WWE since December 2016.

Callahan was let go on the evening of Thursday, May 2, after butting heads with WWE’s Senior VP of Creative, David Kapoor (Ranjin Singh). The release was not a response to the recent drop in WWE TV ratings. Callahan was a member of the “home writing team” that does not travel to WWE events.

Kapoor reportedly felt like Callahan took some of the WWE creative changes too personally, and was difficult work with. His feeling was that this did not set a good example for the rest of the WWE writing team. It was also noted that Callahan and Kapoor were butting heads often.

As we’ve noted, there has been somewhat of a shake-up on the WWE creative team as of late as RD Evans, Dave Schilling, Kazeem Famuyide and WWE Hall of Famer “Road Dogg” Brian James also left or were released. Dana Warrior and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett have joined the team in recent months.

Sources: Wrestling Inc., Pro Wrestling Sheet and Fightful