5 WWE backstage stories we learned this week: Shorty G, Seth Rollins, Vic Joseph, more

We have come to the end of another busy week in the wrestling world, which means it is time to take a look at five of the most interesting backstage WWE stories from the last seven days.

On-screen, much of the focus in WWE right now revolves around Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez, Braun Strowman vs. Tyson Fury and Team Hulk Hogan vs. Team Ric Flair at Crown Jewel, and there is also a lot of interest in Finn Balor following his heel turn on NXT.

Meanwhile, away from the WWE cameras, we have learned this week that one of RAW’s new announcers has been told to change what he wears on Monday nights, while Seth Rollins told a worrying story about a moment at WrestleMania 35 which could have prevented his match against Brock Lesnar from happening.

In this article, let’s count down the top five behind-the-scenes WWE stories of the week.

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#5 Vic Joseph not 'hip' enough, told to change his clothes

Vic Joseph has recently followed in the footsteps of Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Michael Cole in becoming the lead announcer of Monday Night RAW, with Dio Maddin and Jerry “The King” Lawler working alongside him as colour commentators.

Since the 2019 draft took place, it has become clear that SmackDown will be the more sports-centric show, featuring established names including Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, while lesser-known Superstars will be given a bigger spotlight as members of the RAW roster.

Speaking on The Jerry Lawler Show podcast this week, Lawler responded to a question about RAW being more “hip” and “modern” by revealing that Joseph was told to change his clothes following his first appearance as a commentator on the red brand.

“I haven’t actually heard that [RAW being hip and modern] but Ray Charles could see that that’s what’s going to happen. I do know that Vic has told me, I didn’t notice it, but in the first week that he was on there, I guess he just wore a normal suit or whatever, and he said he was told afterwards to get some more modern, hip-looking clothes, outfits to wear.”

#4 Shorty G received help from The Miz

One of the most drastic WWE character changes of 2019 so far has involved Chad Gable, who now goes by the name Shorty G after various Superstars mocked him for being shorter than most of the male roster.

From a storyline perspective, a helpless Gable originally reacted with frustration when the likes of Shelton Benjamin and Baron Corbin poked fun at him for his lack of size. However, he has now decided to embrace his height by cutting defiant promos and referring to himself as Shorty G.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated this week, the 2012 Olympian revealed that he has received help from fellow WWE Superstar The Miz about his character and he now knows why some of his previous storyline ideas did not work in the way that he wanted.

“Miz is someone who has helped me a lot. He started giving me ideas and explained why a lot of my really serious ideas weren’t working. I started to understand his vision, and now I’m off and running with this new character. I’m going to have a great time with it and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it.”

#3 Seth Rollins almost passed out at WrestleMania 35

Seth Rollins picked up one of the biggest victories of his WWE career so far when he defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35 to win the Universal Championship for the first time.

Eagle-eyed fans may have noticed that the former Shield member appeared to lose his footing and stumble as he walked along the stage area before he made his way down the entrance ramp for his big match.

Now, six months later, the man himself has revealed in a ‘Break It Down’ video on WWE’s YouTube channel that he was so “amped up” and “fired up” for his opening match at WrestleMania that he legitimately almost passed out during his own entrance.

“No joke, I don’t know if you can ever catch it but there’s a moment where I’m drifting kind of back to the centre of the ramp, and I’m glossed over because when you get so fired up and it’s that feeling when you’ve been lying down or sitting down for too long and you stand up and you get light-headed.”

As you can see from the 08:56 mark of the video above, Rollins looked to be disorientated as he tried to steady himself before walking down the enormous WrestleMania ramp at MetLife Stadium.

#2 Eric Bischoff’s reaction to Vince McMahon firing him

The biggest backstage WWE story from October 2019 took place last week when it was revealed that Eric Bischoff had been fired from his role as SmackDown Executive Director, with Bruce Prichard stepping in as his replacement.

Speaking on his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff spoke in-depth for the first time about Vince McMahon’s decision to fire him.

The former on-screen General Manager admitted that although he expected to remain in his Executive Director role for up to three years, he was “not completely surprised” when he was told that his services were no longer required just four months into the job.

He added that he does not regret taking on the role, claiming it was worth temporarily moving to Connecticut just to have the opportunity to work alongside McMahon in a behind-the-scenes WWE role.

“Like I said a couple of weeks ago, he [Vince] is a fascinating guy. He doesn’t have all the answers, he’s not going to be right one hundred percent of the time, he’s intense, he’s a lot of things, but not the least of which is fascinating. To have that opportunity I think was worth the trip.”

#1 Ric Flair was not drunk on RAW

The October 21 episode of RAW kicked off with Ric Flair revealing Drew McIntyre as the fifth and final member of his team to take on Team Hulk Hogan in a five-on-five match at Crown Jewel.

Before introducing McIntyre, the two-time Hall of Famer had some fun during his promo by speaking directly to Cleveland Browns football players at ringside before pointing out that a group of fans had attended the show in “Nature Boy” attire.

Many fans suggested on social media that Flair may have been drunk during his promo, as it is very rare that WWE Superstars and personalities go off-script and address people in the audience during promos.

However, speaking on The Jerry Lawler Show podcast this week, RAW commentator Jerry “The King” Lawler said he shared a locker room with Flair before the show and knows that he was not drunk.

“I can assure you, I was with him for hours leading up to right before we went out on the air, and he was perfectly fine, so I know that people are saying Ric Flair was drunk or something like that. That was not the case.”

Lawler went on to say that WWE had likely given Flair the freedom to say whatever he wanted in an unscripted promo before he introduced McIntyre.

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