Report: Vince McMahon Made Major Last Minute Addition To WWE Raw
Vince McMahon wanted AJ Styles on WWE Raw following Night of Champions
May 31, 2023
Vince McMahon wielded his creative influence at the last minute ahead of the May 29 edition of Monday Night Raw from Albany, New York.
According to PWInsider Elite, AJ Styles wasn't originally scheduled to be on Raw this week and he actually flew home on Sunday after arriving back in the United States following Night of Champions. Styles appearing on the show was a last-second Vince McMahon call and portions of Raw had to be reconfigured to squeeze in the two-time WWE Champion.
Styles was present in the opening segment of Raw as he congratulated Seth Rollins on his World Heavyweight Title win against him at Night of Champions. A Judgment Day interruption then set up the main event of Finn Balor & Damian Priest vs. AJ Styles & Seth Rollins, a match which the babyfaces went on to win.
Styles' appearance on the show came as a surprise since he is a SmackDown talent and WWE recently reasserted the brand split with their latest draft. Adam Pearce was shown securing Styles' match on Raw in a backstage segment to explain how he could wrestle on the red brand.
Outside of the Styles addition, the remainder of Raw went ahead as originally planned and it was said to be an easy night for creative and production overall.
Vince McMahon reasserted himself as the head of WWE creative following the announcement of WWE's sale to Endeavor on April 3. McMahon made major in-person changes to the Raw after WrestleMania 39 and he has continued to remotely make changes to WWE TV since then. Triple H primarily writes WWE TV as Chief Content Officer but Vince McMahon is able to change anything he wants.