WWE Makes Changes To Two Different Programs

-In case you have not been paying attention, WWE has been going through a lot of changes. Depending on your perspective, these changes are not all good. If you ask certain people, they are mostly bad, actually. Recent events saw WWE once again bring back Brock Lesnar, for example. Monday’s edition of RAW also saw the company unveil a very poorly received 24/7 title.

So, why not some more changes, right?

As observed on RAW and again on last night’s SmackDown, Drew McIntyre is getting inserted into the Shane McMahon-Roman Reigns program. While Elias has still lingered this week, Wrestling Observer is indicating that McIntyre will be taking the spot previously occupied by Elias.

That likely explains why WWE went heavy in the dialogue saying that Reigns was done with Elias in the last couple days.

While pushing McIntyre is not a shock-he’s been on the precipice of a huge push for a bit now-the move to push him over Elias is a surprise. Why not push both? The big question remaining for now is, what will they do with Elias? Is he being transitioned to another, equally worthwhile program? Or is he being placed on the back burner for a bit?

-Speaking of changes, last night’s SmackDown brought a significant return, and with it, another major shift in programs.

Following Kingston’s match against Sami Zayn, Paul Heyman came out on stage and teased a potential cash-in on Kingston. With the champion’s attention on Heyman and the stage, Dolph Ziggler came in from behind and laid out the champion. During a promo later in the show, Ziggler announced he’d challenge Kingston in June when WWE hits the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Up util recently, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston had been pencilled in to face Kevin Owens at Super Showdown next month.  With Ziggler’s return and subsequent actions, it is now known that Owens will not be making the trip.

Owens also joins Daniel Bryan, who continues to refuse to work the Saudi Arabia shows as his own form of protest.