'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What’s the story?
WWE SmackDown Live was different from what it was advertised to be this week. Daniel Bryan's 'career-altering announcement' was pushed back for the 2nd time while Shawn Michaels, who was advertised to be on commentary, only made an appearance on Miz TV.
If Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio is to be believed, the changes took place because of Vince McMahon. The chairman apparently re-wrote the whole show in the last minute!
In case you didn’t know…
Daniel Bryan and Eric Rowan dropped the SmackDown live Tag team titles at Extreme Rules to The New Day. The dejected former WWE champion announced after the show that he was set to make a 'career-altering announcement' on SmackDown Live, but 2 shows later, nothing has been revealed. He is currently on vacation, and the announcement will happen only once he is back.
As for Shawn Michaels, he announced a week ago that he was going to be doing commentary on SmackDown Live. It was reportedly supposed to be a one-off stint, but Vince scrapped the idea at the last minute.
The heart of the matter
Dave Meltzer reports that Vince rewrote the whole show at the last minute as he had changed his mind. On Wrestling Observer Radio, he said:
“This show is completely different than the one that was written. Vince McMahon showed up at four o’clock and decided he didn’t like the show and Vince redid the show. Everything changed. That’s why all the stuff that was advertised, the Bryan Danielson speech, Shawn Michaels announcing, and all that stuff they talked about all week, didn’t happen because Vince changed his mind.” [H/T Cageside Seats]
The show turned out to be a good one, so no one is complaining!
What’s next?
Vince McMahon has hinted that he is slowly taking a step back from WWE because of XFL, that is re-launching next year. The chairman of the company has appointed Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff as named executive directors of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live and they will be in control of the shows very soon.
How did Ric Flair spend $1500 at a pizza place? More details here
