After Vince McMahon returned and reportedly took charge of the April 3 episode of WWE RAW, many fans were waiting to see whether the same scenario will unfold with the following episode of WWE SmackDown. A new report indicates that McMahon is not at the show, though he was still involved from afar.
Following the news that WWE reached an agreement with Endeavor on April 3, McMahon stated that he would be involved with WWE creative at a “higher level.” However, that same day, he was reportedly in charge of RAW, and he made multiple changes to the show well into the broadcast. Fightful Select reported that the situation led to a notable drop in morale, given the circumstances.
In an update, Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that McMahon is not present at the April 7 taping of WWE SmackDown. Per multiple sources, he reviewed the plans for the show remotely, and while some minor changes were made, there have been no major deviations from the original script. Johnson cited sources who noted that McMahon’s influence was especially apparent on RAW because he was physically there.
With that in mind, the backstage morale is said to be better than it was at RAW, but a “wait and see” attitude is also apparent, as the feeling is that if McMahon continues to watch over everything remotely, things will be more in line with the way they were ahead of WrestleMania.
