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WWE relieved Paul Heyman of his duties as Executive Director of Raw a few weeks ago, and fans had to be wondering what this move meant for the future of the company. Fortunately for the WWE Universe, some time has passed since the controversial decision was made and we now have a good idea of what to expect under the new leadership.
With that being said, and Monday Night Raw going in a plethora of interesting new directions, here are the five biggest changes WWE made to the product since firing Paul Heyman. As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to tell us what changes you have noticed to the overall product.
#5. More title matches
WWE has made a lot of changes to the product ever since Bruce Prichard took over as head of creative, but none of them seem quite as momentous as the uptick in title matches. In fact, it's almost like a mini pay per view every single week with some nice surprises thrown in for good measure.
Between The Street Profits versus The Viking Raiders, Asuka versus Charlotte Flair, and a winner takes all WWE Title match between Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, MVP and R-Truth, the company is going out of their way to make sure that the title picture is in a constant state of motion.
Gone are the days of waiting for the upcoming pay per view and in its place is an almost weekly extravaganza of title matches that could easily change the landscape of WWE. If nothing else, it's more exciting, it features more dream matches and it keeps fans watching what happens next.
#4. Cross brand matchups
While WWE hasn't ended the brand split - and probably never will again - they have taken measures to ensure that Superstars are able to travel between shows. Of course, the Women's tag team division was able to do that from the very beginning, the same right was not extended to the rest of the roster.
Interestingly enough, WWE seems to have thrown this rule out of the window in recent weeks and have been booking a lot of cross-brand match ups. It started out small, with Baron Corbin versus Drew McIntyre on a throw away episode of Monday Night Raw, but has since snowballed into Sasha Banks challenging Asuka for her title.
If nothing else, this is going to open the door to a lot of dream matches between the three shows and could even be a way to stage some kind invasion storyline again. Maybe that last part is a little too optimistic, especially since the company has given any hint of that happening, but it would be a nice way to get fans interested in all three shows.
#3. Different kind of comedy
In all honesty, comedy is a subjective thing that not everyone agrees on, which has caused a lot of infighting among the WWE Universe. For example, fans of The Ruthless Aggression Era would probably find Bobby Lashley and Lana as lovers to be amazing, younger fans probably prefer The Viking Raiders versus The Street Profits in many challenges over the past few weeks.
With that being said, WWE seems to be experimenting with a more campy and corny comedy element, which has really helped open the show back up to a younger audience. It has also helped revive and flesh out the tag team division a bit more and helped fans really get invested in it again.
In the end, it may not be the edgier content that older fans are used to, but it has been a great way to keep younger fans watching the product. It could even be a great a way to venture off into more cinematic type matches again, especially with the introduction of Akira Tozawa's ninjas at Backlash, and lead WWE into a new era of storytelling.
#2. Renewed focus on the Women's tag team division
WWE has hit the reset button on the Women's tag division over the last couple of weeks and the belts are now a weekly fixture on television. The company even went so far as to have Sasha Banks and Bayley defend the belts three times in a week, which is a huge deal for a once floundering division.
Now, there is still a lot of work to do there, especially with WWE running out of opponents to put Bayley and Banks up against, but this renewed focus is very refreshing. Again, it won't be complete until the company puts some more teams together, but this is a very good running start at getting there.
In the end, the company needed to make these belts matter again and they are really starting to achieve that. While the verdict is still out on whether they can maintain this momentum or not, the company's recent track record and willingness to give the title more television time is a promising sign.
#1. Unpredictability
There's something in the air when it comes to WWE over the last couple of weeks, and that has solicited a lot of attention from fans. While some might have thought that the company would try out a bunch of different things to see what worked, they seem to have focused in on the unpredictability element of each broadcast.
Not only is that evident by the way Matt Riddle defeated AJ Styles in his debut match on SmackDown, but also by just how breathtaking the final moments of the June 22nd main event of Raw was. In fact, this is some of the best storytelling WWE has done to date and it stems from that anything can happen mentality.
Whether that be a horde of ninjas, Asuka finally defeating Charlotte in one on one competition, or brilliant cliff hangers before commercial breaks, WWE has successfully invested fans in what happens next. All they need to do now is find ways to capitalize off of that and continue to build storylines that fans can get behind.
