Since the announcement that Paul Heyman will serve as the executive director of Monday Night Raw going forward, we’ve seen flourishings of his creative input during recent episodes of WWE’s flagship show.
The shows in recent weeks have pushed WWE’s PG rating to the limit. Commentators have used curse words, wrestlers have crashed through LED boards, and a real-life pregnancy has been used to enhance storylines. While WWE is showing no signs of returning to the infamous “Attitude Era,’ the company appears to be heading toward an edgier product all the same.
That said, Heyman’s future plans supposedly involve more substance than segments that push the envelope. According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter , he also hopes to introduce unscripted backstage interviews as well as make match wins and losses mean more.
“Paul Heyman for Raw is trying to go with the idea of having backstage interviews have less of the fake dialogue and come across more realistic, and that there would be more consequences, essentially what AEW promises with the idea that wins and losses will matter and that angles won’t just be forgotten and dropped, and if someone gets hurt one week they won’t be fine the next week.”
If the rumors are true and these changes are implemented, Monday Night Raw will be a more believable product. Superstars will sell their injuries and wrestlers will earn title opportunities by picking up wins. In recent years, WWE’s main roster programming hasn’t been too concerned with these elements, which has led to much criticism from the WWE Universe.
Of course, as Meltzer noted, the emergence of All Elite Wrestling has likely forced WWE to change its current approach to presentation. Tony Khan’s upstart company promises to make wins and losses matter while providing a product that’s more hard-hitting and edgy. With AEW airing on a mainstream television network later this year, WWE does have some new — and realistic — competition to contend with.
As The Inquisitr previously wrote, Heyman is also eyeing Ricochet for a major push because he feels his impressive high-flying style will connect with absent teenage fans. At the time of writing, the former NXT North American Champion is feuding with AJ Styles and his cohorts in The Club.
Elsewhere, Sportskeeda revealed that Heyman has big plans for Braun Strowman, who’s supposedly in line for a monster push in the near future. Only time will tell if these rumors are true, but the future of Monday Night Raw is shaping up to be quite unpredictable with the new man in charge nonetheless.