Vince McMahon is at it again.
Despite Triple H taking over as Chief Content Officer in the wake of Vince McMahon’s short-lived retirement last July, McMahon has been gaining more influence backstage since returning to the company to facilitate a sale.
On April 3rd, it was revealed that WWE had reached an agreement to merge with UFC to form a new $21+ billion entity under parent company Endeavor. Endeavor head Ari Emmanuel will serve as CEO of the new corporation while Vince McMahon will act as Executive Chairman of the Board. Dana White and Nick Khan will serve as presidents of UFC and WWE respectively. Triple H will reportedly remain Chief Content Officer, but it’s become clear that he no longer has the final say on creative operations.
The post-WrestleMania edition of Monday Night Raw also took place on April 3rd and saw McMahon make multiple last-minute changes to the program. He was in Gorilla position the whole night, and many talent feared that his influence would continue to have detrimental effects on morale backstage.
McMahon has not been backstage at either Raw or SmackDown since the post-WrestleMania edition of Raw, but according to a new report from PWInsider Elite, that hasn’t stopped him from influencing the show. The report, released just hours before Raw is set to go on the air, states that “major changes” have been made to the April 24th Raw script, and that the changes were at the request of none other than Vince McMahon. He is not backstage and is reportedly requesting the changes remotely.
Ahead of the broadcast, WWE have announced that Bad Bunny will be making his return to hype up Backlash, which will take place in Puerto Rico on May 6th. Also announced for the show is a singles bout between Damian Priest and Rey Mysterio, thought it is unclear if these plans are affected by Vince McMahon’s changes.
Talent Reportedly Frustrated By Vince McMahon’s Influence On Creative
Continuing, the report notes that multiple sources have reached out about talent unhappiness surrounding McMahon’s influence on the show. While the backstage mood is said to not be as severe as it was following the changes made to the April 3rd broadcast, it is reportedly heading in that direction.
On that occasion, it was reported that talent were disappointed in the way the changes were made and communicated, and one top talent was even said to be likely to request their release if things continued in that manner.