WWE: When WWE Decided on Goldberg vs. McIntyre, Final Raw Segment Cut Short, More Raw Notes

Goldberg

WWE’s decision to have Goldberg face Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble was just made this past Saturday, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

That’s apparently a reason why Goldberg was challenging Roman Reigns just last month.

PWInsider says that Goldberg was hidden away to not give away the surprise, and he wasn’t listed in the show’s script.

Final Raw Segment Cut Short

WWE’s original plan was to have Drew McIntyre cut a promo after his win against Keith Lee on Raw last night, according to PWInsider.

But they didn’t have enough time left, so the promo was cut and Goldberg came out right after the match. Goldberg’s promo about McIntyre “not respecting legends” was supposed to be a response to what McIntyre was going to say in his promo, so that’s why it didn’t seem to make much sense.

More Raw Notes

– The original Raw plan was to have Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy close the show, but it was changed to McIntyre vs. Lee, along with Goldberg’s segment, according to PWInsider.

– The original plan for Raw was to have Hulk Hogan cutting an in-ring promo to start the show, but at some point it was changed to a cold open backstage segment, PWInsider says. They also say that Hogan and Ric Flair sat in on the production meeting before the show.

– Mick Foley, Carlito and Candice Michelle were advertised for the show, but didn’t appear. Foley didn’t come due to testing positive for COVID-19. Carlito had a cameo originally written for him, PWInsider says. It’s not clear why he wasn’t at the show, and there’s no more info on why Michelle wasn’t there.