Last night’s Raw had some surprises, from Knox County Mayor Glenn “Kane” Jacobs winning the WWE 24/7 Championship to Rusev returning as the possible father of Maria Kanellis’s unborn baby. It also featured some weird Bray Wyatt stuff, including a bunch of upside down graphics, and a really creepy ending where the Fiend took down Kane with the Mandible Claw and then scared the hell out of Seth Rollins, followed by a really long “Firefly Fun House” outro.
If things seemed a little different or off-kilter, that might have been because much of the usual WWE leadership wasn’t present at the show. According to a report from Pro Wrestling Sheet, Vince McMahon wasn’t in Knoxville for Raw, and neither were Triple H and Kevin Dunn. Executive Director Paul Heyman apparently ran the show by himself, while WWE VP of Global Television Production Michael Mansury filled in for Dunn on the production side.
This makes some sense, because on previous episodes where things were left up to him, Heyman showed an interest in Mike and Maria Kanellis that nobody else at WWE seems to share. Also the stuff with the Fiend displayed a willingness to experiment and be edgy that’s rarely seen on Monday Night Raw these days. There’s no word yet on whether Vince, Trips, and/or Dunn will be at Smackdown tonight, or if we’ll be seeing an Eric Bischoff show.
