Why WWE Changed SmackDown Plans For Roman Reigns Last Week

Ringside News has exclusively reported on last-minute changes for WWE SmackDown. The ending to the show where The Bloodline beat down the New Day was a last-minute addition to that week’s show. The original plans for the angle are unknown.

In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer confirmed our exclusive report on the change. He said that the idea was to help build to match between Roman Reigns and Big E at Survivor Series. There was no significant build for the main event match until that segment.

“Regarding reports that the segments on Smackdown involving Reigns and Woods were changed the day of the show in Ringside News, that is accurate, but it’s also the usual. There were changes pitched between 4 and 6 p.m. the day of the show, but that is usually the case with Reigns segments since it’s a common thing for Reigns and Lesnar to ask for late changes with Heyman as the common denominator with ideas to enhance what was on paper the day of the show. The idea was to change things to do something to build for the Reigns vs. E match using the New Day since that match had not been built at all going into Friday.”

Most of the card for this weekend’s Survivor Series has suffered from a severe lack of a build. Interest in the show is already low, as ticket sales are nowhere near a sellout. The elimination matches had teams announced on social media, only for them to undergo frequent changes.

It’s mind-boggling to learn that WWE didn’t think to build the main event of one of their pay-per-views on television until hours before the show. While changes may be routine, the real story here is that the segment was added just before the show took place. That means that the company didn’t even think to promote their big champion vs champion match as much more than an afterthought that was added to spice up the script.

Survivor Series is Sunday night at 8PM eastern. The show airs on Peacock in the US and on WWE Network elsewhere. Ringside News will be bringing fans live results throughout the show.

What do you think of WWE treating their main event as an afterthought? Let us know in the comments!