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WWE News: Vince McMahon to Appear on Monday’s Dec. 17 Raw to “Shake Things Up”

By John Canton • Published 15th December 2018
TJR Wrestling

It was announced today that WWE’s Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon is going to appear on Raw to “shake things up.” It was first announced in a tweet and then a WWE.com article appeared with the news. Here’s what it says:

One week after Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins placed the blame for Monday Night Raw’s recent decline squarely on the shoulders of “General Manager-Elect” Baron Corbin, WWE Chairman and CEO Mr. McMahon will return to the red brand to shake things up, WWE.com can confirm.

The landmark appearance of The Chairman comes one night after WWE TLC, where Corbin intends to be named the permanent General Manager of Raw following a forfeit victory over the injured Braun Strowman in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match, per the stipulation handed down by Commissioner Stephanie McMahon. However, rumors abound that The Monster Among Men could make an appearance at this Sunday’s WWE TLC event and stop The Lone Wolf from assuming total control of Team Red.

With Mr. McMahon’s return imminent, however, Corbin could have a lot to answer for regardless of his position. How will The Chairman shake up Monday Night Raw, and who will benefit — or suffer — as a result?

Whatever Mr. McMahon has in store, you won’t want to miss it this Monday night on Raw, live at 8/7 C on USA Network.

Next week’s Raw takes place at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. They are actually taping two episodes back to back because the following Monday is Christmas Eve, so it’s going to be a long night for the fans in Sacramento.

McMahon didn’t comment on the Raw appearance, but he did tweet about John Cena winning a big award from Sports Illustrated this week.

Baron Corbin chimed in with this.

#HEELSLIE is my reply.

TJR Thoughts: The real reason for Vince’s appearance is likely due to Raw posting low television rating numbers over the past month to the point that they are setting record lows nearly every week. The audience should bounce back in January when they aren’t against NFL games on Monday nights, but it still not a good sign that numbers are down.

The 73-year-old McMahon doesn’t appear on WWE television that often anymore. He had a memorable appearance on Raw’s 25th year anniversary with Steve Austin earlier this year and he was also on Smackdown 1000 for some brief dancing, but other than that, he mostly stays in the back. As Vince has gotten older, he has let his daughter Stephanie McMahon control Raw as the on-air Commissioner along with husband Triple H appearing once in a while. Vince’s son Shane McMahon is the on-screen Commissioner of Smackdown even though he missed about six months earlier this year due to injuries.

Is it a good sign that they need to bring a 73-year-old on the show to help ratings? No. It’s pretty sad, actually, but the feeling is that if WWE promotes Vince McMcMahon “shaking things up” then maybe there will be more interest in Monday’s Raw. I don’t know if that means they will move Raw or Smackdown talent around or if it’s just Vince putting Kurt Angle back in charge on Raw, but there will probably be some changes. Find out on Monday, I guess.