Recent budget cuts have taken their toll on WWE’s backstage staff, with producers said to be “extremely overworked” after two notable departures.
The latest edition of WWE SmackDown saw Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns appear for the first time since defeating Riddle on June 17th. While the Tribal Chief was in a great mood, Paul Heyman was full of anxiety about his upcoming title defence in a Last Man Standing match against Brock Lesnar, saying Reigns would have to become savage to keep The Beast Incarnate down.
Elsewhere on the show, Lacey Evans turned heel, laying out her would-be tag team partner Aliyah with a Woman’s Right, Max Dupri unveiled the Maximum Male Models 2022 Tennis Collection to the world, and Drew McIntyre annihilated Butch and the ring ropes.
🔥⚔️🔥#SmackDown@DMcIntyreWWE@WWESheamuspic.twitter.com/AfhHivAeD2
— WWE (@WWE) July 9, 2022
While SmackDown went off without a hitch on TV, backstage it was a different matter. According to PWInsider, WWE’s producers are feeling the effects of recent budget cuts. Curtis Axel and Ariya Daivari, who had been brought in on a probationary basis, are seemingly no longer at shows.
Meanwhile, Jason Jordan, who currently oversees the producers, is on a leave of absence as he and his wife await the arrival of their new baby.
This meant that Adam Pearce took charge for the night and work was spread out among the remaining producers, who are said to already be dealing with an “insane workload”. A source told PWInsider that the situation has led to them going back to feeling “extremely overworked”.