This past Monday’s Raw was essentially Paul Heyman’s first show in his new role as “Executive Director” of Raw. Though the majority of the show wasn’t booked by him, Heyman’s “fingerprints were all over the show,” according to Dave Meltzer.
The following segments were Paul Heyman ideas, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
– The opening segment with Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley, where they crashed through the LED wall
– The Maria and Mike Kanellis segment, where Maria announced that she was pregnant and humiliated Mike
– The Street Profits coming up to Raw was Paul Heyman’s request. The NXT Tag Team Champions will continue to work in NXT for now in addition to Raw.
– Heyman is said to be very high on Ricochet, who beat AJ Styles in the main event, and feels that he’ll be able to appeal to younger fans.
– Heyman is also reportedly a strong advocate of Aleister Black and Lacey Evans, among many others, but those were specifically named by the Observer.
Vince McMahon and writer Ed Koskey were the ones running this week’s production meeting, and McMahon still has ultimate control over creative, but the Observer says that both Heyman and Bischoff “will have enough input to either sink or swim.”