WWE: Kevin Owens Influenced New Mask Policy, Best of Women’s Evolution, Updated SD Ratings

Kevin Owens Reportedly Influenced WWE’s Decision for New Face Mask Policy

As noted before, WWE recently enacted a new mandatory face mask policy for all tapings going forward at the Performance Center, which was reportedly influenced by a notable RAW brand talent who discussed the issue with Vince McMahon.

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Kevin Owens revealed that he was the person who influenced WWE’s decision for their new mask policy.

“It’s been brought up—at first, the masks weren’t being taken seriously enough. Eventually, a fine system was implemented to make sure people took it seriously. That came from me. I thought that the masks weren’t being worn seriously enough, so I went and talked to the people in charge. They immediately did what they could to remedy the situation. I don’t blame anybody for the mask thing. It’s easy to forget how important those masks are. Some people just straight up believe that the masks don’t make a difference, and that’s their belief. But if we’re all going to work together and we’re all trying to keep each other safe, I think it matters. If you’ve had somebody in your family affected by this the way my family was, it’s a lot easier to remember that these masks make a huge difference. These masks do make a difference, and I felt it was important for people to take that seriously. I was pleased that the company felt the same way and made sure to get the message out to everybody that this is a big deal. That’s why, in the end, I decided to come back. I feel comfortable going back to work, and I feel as safe as I can be there.”

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WWE Network Releases “Best of Women’s Evolution” Collection

WWE recently uploaded a Best of Women’s Evolution collection set on the WWE Network. This set is almost five hours in length and was released in honor of Monday being the fifth anniversary of the debut of WWE’s Women’s Revolution movement.

Official synopsis:

Beginning with Stephanie McMahon’s trailblazing introduction of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks on Raw to the first-ever women’s match in Saudi Arabia, these are the groundbreaking moments and matches that define the Women’s Evolution.

Full content listing:

• Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch make Raw debut – Raw, July 13, 2015
• Sasha Banks versus Becky Lynch versus Charlotte Flair for the WWE Women’s Championship – WrestleMania 32
• Charlotte Flair versus Sasha Banks for the Raw Women’s Championship (Hell in a Cell Match) – Hell in a Cell 2016
• Shayna Baszler versus Kairi Sane (Finals of the Inaugural Mae Young Classic) – September 12 , 2017
• Inaugural Women’s Royal Rumble – Royal Rumble 2018
• Charlotte Flair versus Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship (Last Woman Standing) – Evolution 2018
• Nikki Bella versus Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women’s Championship – Evolution 2018
• Charlotte Flair versus Ronda Rousey versus Becky Lynch (Winner Take All for the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships) – WrestleMania 35
• Natalya versus Lacey Evans – Crown Jewel 2019

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Updated WWE Friday Night SmackDown Ratings

This past Friday’s episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a final viewership of 1,900,000 on FOX, according to Showbuzz Daily. This was the down compared to the initial overnight number of 1,905,000 viewers on the network.