Dave Meltzer Assesses The Blood Spot From The End Of WWE Raw
"WWE Raw" went off the air last night with a bloody angle involving Cody Rhodes and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, featuring a level of violence and censored profanity that's unusual for the modern era of WWE. Speaking on today's "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer offered his perspective on the show-ending segment.
"[Johnson] can literally do anything he wants, no matter what," Meltzer said. "How many times do you get a blood angle like that in WWE?"
Since his appointment to the TKO Board of Directors early this year and re-joining WWE as a wrestler, there's been much discussion about Johnson being given free rein behind the scenes. That includes the liberal use of curses in his promos, but Johnson recently denied that he was ruffling any feathers with his swearing.
Meltzer compared Johnson's ability to control his creative direction in WWE to that of Brock Lesnar. Though Lesnar is currently factored out of the company's plans due to his alleged involvement in the Vince McMahon sex trafficking scandal, he once had a great deal of cache within WWE.
With Johnson now sitting on the company's board, Meltzer feels that The Rock can essentially do whatever he wants in WWE. The "Wrestling Observer" host believes Johnson was given the green light to take things up a notch during last night's "Raw" in the lead-up to WWE WrestleMania 40 because the company can't say no.
There is just one episode of "WWE Raw," and two episodes of "WWE SmackDown," before WrestleMania takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania next weekend. The main event of night one will see Rhodes and Seth Rollins battle The Rock and Roman Reigns in a tag match before Rhodes and Reigns face off in singles action on night two.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.