WWE Rumors: Vince McMahon made big change to Raw in recent production meeting

What's the story?

The June 17 episode of WWE Raw featured an impromptu 2-out-of-3 Falls match between Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn and The New Day.

Speaking on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez explained why Vince McMahon has started to use the match type as a regular part of WWE programming.

In case you didn't know…

Since WrestleMania 35 took place in April 2019, WWE has made lots of changes to its weekly television shows.

The first big change came in early May when Vince McMahon essentially ended the brand split by introducing a ‘Wild Card Rule’, which initially enabled three chosen Superstars from Raw and SmackDown Live to appear on the opposing brand’s show on a week-to-week basis.

As the weeks have progressed, the rule has become more lenient, with up to eight Superstars sometimes showing up on the rival brand.

Another notable development to WWE’s shows came last month when Mick Foley unveiled the 24/7 Championship – a modern-day version of the Hardcore Championship – on Raw. R-Truth has since become a six-time champion, with title changes taking place in settings including a golf course and a wedding ceremony.

WWE has also booked two 2-out-of-3 Falls matches on television in the last week: Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. The New Day (Raw) and Zayn & Owens vs. Kofi Kingston & Seth Rollins (SmackDown Live).

This left many fans confused, as the 2-out-of-3 Falls match type is usually reserved for pay-per-view events when two opponents are nearing the end of a rivalry.

The heart of the matter

As many as eight matches often take place during a three-hour episode of Raw, which means that much of the in-ring action occurs during commercial breaks.

In the latest significant change to WWE programming since WrestleMania, Bryan Alvarez is reporting that Vince McMahon no longer wants his Superstars to wrestle during commercials, which is why 2-out-of-3 Falls matches might become more frequent.

“Apparently there was a meeting last week and Vince just told everybody there’s no more wrestling during commercial breaks. So, basically, you can have a match that goes through a break but there can’t be wrestling during the break. Therefore, you have to have multi-fall matches or different things like that.”

This also explains why Superstars including Mojo Rawley and Sarah Logan have cut online-exclusive promos during commercials on Raw recently.

What's next?

With another episode of Raw scheduled to take place in Everett, Washington on June 24, we will soon find out if WWE is planning any more 2-out-of-3 Falls matches in the near future.