The Raw after Mania was underwhelming for many, void of many of the surprises and iconic moments we've become accustomed to, but WWE was running light anyway.
Fightful Select reported that even though we saw the return of the Viking Raiders, and releases just days later, WWE was working "short handed" without several regulars slated.
The WWE Raw after Mania didn't go as planned for fans, or WWE for that matter, and when we asked those in the company we were given some reasons why. Originally, Riddle was not planned to take on Bobby Lashley, but those we spoke to said that there were more wrestlers banged up or not cleared after WrestleMania than normal. Among those, a couple were precautionary due to COVID symptoms, and we were told that the brand was just short-handed in general.
Sheamus, AJ Styles, Omos, Shane McMahon and others were excluded from Raw, while Edge, Daniel Bryan and Big E weren't on Smackdown.
This article first appeared on our premium service, Fightful Select. Subscribe to get exclusive news every day, and a half-dozen weekly podcasts. It also appeared in our Fightful Wrestling Weekly newsletter, free on Fightful.
To directly support us and our continuing breaking news, interviews, and the like, subscribe to FightfulSelect.com. You'll get exclusive news sent to you directly before anyone else, and dozens of podcasts monthly including Alex Pawlowski's Sour Graps, Sean Ross Sapp's Q&A, Retro Reviews and more
