There was a lot of criticism directed at this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw because it felt like the same old show compared to last week’s show that felt like it had Paul Heyman’s fingerprints on it.
So, the question that everyone is wondering is…was Paul Heyman involved with the show this week or did Vince McMahon take over? It certainly felt like most of this week’s show was back to the Vince McMahon formulaic way of doing things.
On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer confirmed that Paul Heyman did indeed work on this week’s show but it’s not known how much of his fingerprints were on the show.
“The only thing that I’m relatively certain [with Paul] is the Mike and Maria stuff because that reminds me of ECW,” Meltzer said. “As far as the other stuff, I don’t know. I’m sure some of those segments were his. It’s Vince’s show. It’s always going to be Vince’s show.”
“It’s a slow battle,” Meltzer said about Heyman being able to get more things through Vince McMahon’s filter.
Meltzer’s comments about Heyman being involved in the Mike and Maria segments are not surprising because Heyman has known Maria for many years and he’s a big fan of her and husband. I was told that while it might seem like Mike is being buried, they do have long-term plans for him.
Unless major changes happen, WWE ratings are not going to see a big increase so hopefully, things pick up in the next few months as they start the hype for SummerSlam next week and as they get ready for their new TV deals to kick in this Fall.
