The June 19th episode of WWE Raw opened with a bang, but it was due to look very different before Vince McMahon made some changes.
It had been announced that Seth Rollins would be defending his World Heavyweight Championship in an open challenge but the match was over before an opponent was even revealed. Rollins was attacked by Finn Balor and beaten down at ringside as he made his entrance, and Balor jumped the champion again once he got backstage to receive medical treatment.
With Rollins out of action, The Miz announced that he was going to answer Rollins’ challenge, before laying down a challenge of his own. This brought out Tommaso Ciampa who was returning to the ring for the first time in nine months.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Rollins’ open challenge was only changed at the “last minute,” with Vince McMahon feeling that the angle gave the rivalry between the star and Finn Balor more heat ahead of their match at Money In The Bank.
“The open challenge was supposed to happen till the last minute. Vince changed… the first 30 minutes of the show, I heard, was totally changed.
Vince really wanted this… the whole Seth Rollins angle with Finn Balor, I think he just wanted something big, something bigger for Seth Rollins and Finn Balor, just to heat up Finn Balor.
To be fair, I know people who are there who told me, ‘Look, as far as the 30 minutes that Vince put in, it was better than the 30 minutes that was taken out’.”
Vince McMahon Made “Drastic Changes” To Raw
The report from Dave Meltzer comes after it was reported as Raw began that McMahon had made what was described as “drastic changes” to the opening segment and the show in general. As has become the norm these changes were made remotely.
H/t to Wrestle Talk