Drew Mcintyre

Some of the biggest rivalries in professional wrestling will come to a head Saturday when WWE Bad Blood emanates from State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

Bad Blood will mark the return of the Hell in a Cell match, and it will involve two fitting combatants in CM Punk and Drew McIntyre, who have been at odds for nearly a year.

Also, arguably WWE's two top stars will put their issues aside, as Roman Reigns and undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes team up against a common enemy in The Bloodline.

The following is a rundown of the entire Bad Blood card, complete with a closer look at some of the top matches fans won't want to miss.

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Where: State Farm Arena in Atlanta

When: Saturday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. ET

Watch: Peacock

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WWE Bad Blood Card and Projected Match Order

• Hell in a Cell: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre
• WWE Women's Championship: Nia Jax (c) vs. Bayley
• Damian Priest vs. Finn Bálor
• Women's World Championship (w/ Dominik Mysterio in Shark Cage): Liv Morgan (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
• Roman Reigns & Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu

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Top Bad Blood Matches to Watch

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre

After splitting their first two bouts against each other at SummerSlam and Bash in Berlin, the rubber match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre is slated for Bad Blood.

McIntyre has been one of Punk's main adversaries since he returned to WWE last November, and he was the first one to revel in the fact that Punk got injured in the Royal Rumble match, which kept him off the WrestleMania card.

Despite that, Punk ended up costing McIntyre the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, and they have been at each other's throats ever since.

Few rivalries in wrestling have come across as personal as the one between Punk and McIntyre over the past several years, so it is only fitting that they will settle the score in one of the most dangerous and brutal match types ever conceived.

When it was first created Hell in a Cell was meant to bring a decisive end to blood feuds, and while WWE got away from that for quite some time, Punk vs. McIntyre is precisely the type of match Hell in a Cell is supposed to be attached to.

Both Punk and McIntyre figure to go to great lengths to beat each other, and given that WWE has seemingly loosened some restrictions under the leadership of Triple H, Hell in a Cell could be a bloody and unsettling affair.

Punk and McIntyre may not end up in the main event spot at Bad Blood, but it is difficult to envision any other match overshadowing their performance.

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Roman Reigns & Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu

For the first time since dropping the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 40 back in April, Roman Reigns will return to in-ring action at Bad Blood.

Reigns made his initial return at SummerSlam by helping Rhodes beat Solo Sikoa in a WWE Championship match, apparently in retaliation for Solo's hostile takeover of The Bloodline.

Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa later put Reigns on the shelf by attacking him, but the OTC returned again on a recent episode of SmackDown, helping Cody fight off The Bloodline.

Reigns and Rhodes entered into an unlikely alliance to battle The Bloodline, leading to the tag team match becoming official for Bad Blood.

While Reigns and Rhodes have a common enemy, they aren't necessarily on the same page, and there is little doubt that Roman wants an opportunity to win back the world title he held for over 1,300 days at some point.

That means Reigns and Rhodes could potentially turn on each other during Saturday's match, and that uncertainty adds a great deal of intrigue to the likely Bad Blood main event.

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Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley

One of the longest-running and most personal feuds in the WWE women's division in recent memory will have another key chapter written Saturday at Bad Blood.

For the second time since SummerSlam, Liv Morgan will put the Women's World Championship on the line against Rhea Ripley, although there will be a catch this time around.

Given that Dominik Mysterio interfered at SummerSlam and has interfered in essentially all of Liv's matches since then, he will be locked inside a shark cage so he cannot get involved at Bad Blood.

Of course, that doesn't mean other Judgment Day members can't help Morgan, nor does it mean that Damian Priest can't lend his Terror Twins teammate in Rhea a helping hand.

Also, given Dirty Dom's status as a slimy heel, he may have something devious and unique up his sleeve, such as a foreign object he can slip to Liv.

With so many moving parts, Morgan vs. Ripley is a highly unpredictable match, and one that could be a catalyst for their feud to continue for many months to come.

Even if Morgan comes out on top, it is difficult to imagine Ripley ceasing her pursuit of revenge and the women's world title.

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Contract Updates for Rey Fenix and Penta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12WIbQ2wo-c

Amid rumors that the Lucha Bros are looking to leave AEW to sign with WWE, the contract status for both Rey Fenix and Penta has been made available.

Per Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlePurists) Penta's AEW contract is set to expire within the next two months and he is expected to sign with WWE.

Even though Penta can't officially negotiate with WWE until his deal expires, Meltzer noted WWE has made him a "competitive offer" and that sealed his decision to leave amid "frustration" with AEW.

It could be awhile before both Lucha Bros are in WWE together because Meltzer reported that "right now" AEW is expected to add roughly one year to Rey Fenix's contract to make up for time missed due to injuries.

Dave Meltzer reports that "right now" AEW is adding nearly a year of injury time onto Rey Fenix's contract:

As far as Fenix goes, right now AEW is tacking on injury time which is nearly but not quite one year. Khan made both significant offers to stay but they wouldn’t sign a… pic.twitter.com/d8Yi6F9Um8

— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) September 27, 2024

Penta and Fenix have been with AEW since 2019 when they challenged the Young Bucks for the AAA world tag team titles at the first Double or Nothing event.

The Lucha Bros have held the AEW tag titles and trios titles, along with Pac, during their run with the promotion. They've mostly been relegated to television matches, be it as singles or as a tag team, for most of this year.

Fenix missed six months from October through April due to an undisclosed injury. He missed another month after revealing at House of Glory's Cinco de Mayo event on May 5 he wasn't medically cleared to wrestle.

WWE has been trying to find a masked successor to Rey Mysterio, who is still one of the most reliable performers in the company, for years with no success. Both Penta and Fenix are two of the best high-flying wrestlers in the world and could fill that void if either or both join the promotion.

WWE Still Debating Bad Blood Main Event

One week away from Bad Blood, WWE is going back and forth on which match is going to close the show.

Per Meltzer (h/t WrestleTalk), the plan as of right now is for the tag match featuring Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns taking on Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu to headline the premium live event.

The original plan was for the CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre Hell in a Cell match to be the main event, and there remain "people on both sides of the discussion" at the moment.

There are definitely arguments for both matches to headline the show. The Punk-McIntyre feud has been one of the best things in WWE all year. If this ends up being the blow-off match to their rivalry, it would be a perfectly fine choice for the main-event spot.

On the other hand, everything in WWE has been built around the Bloodline angle for two years running. Plus, this will be Roman's first match since losing the undisputed WWE universal title to Rhodes at WrestleMania.

The tag match also figures to further the storyline build to a possible Reigns-Fatu match at WrestleMania 41. There is also the upcoming Survivor Series: WarGames event on Nov. 2 that could end up featuring a Bloodline Civil War, especially with rumors that Jimmy Uso could be returning soon.

If you have all of that going on, not to mention Rhodes and Reigns teaming up for the first time after their memorable feud, it's hard not to argue that the tag bout is the most important match on the show.

SmackDown Expected to Be Three-Hour Show

Amid rumors earlier this week that WWE and USA were in talks to make SmackDown a three-hour show, the expectation is that will be the case starting in January.

Per Meltzer (h/t WrestleTalk), WWE is officially saying that nothing is finalized right now, but "they are likely waiting to make that announcement" until it becomes official.

WrestleVotes Radio (h/t WrestleTalk) reported on Sept. 19 that SmackDown is expected to become a three-hour show starting on Jan. 3.

Meltzer noted that financial details for the extra hour are not known and he was told "negotiations are ongoing" with the USA network at this point.

This is certainly going to be testing the limits of how much time wrestling fans are willing to commit to weekly shows. It hasn't been confirmed that Raw, which will be a two-hour show starting Oct. 7 through the end of the year, is going to remain three hours when it debuts on Netflix on Jan. 6.

Since Netflix isn't held to the same scheduling constraints that USA is, Raw could vary in length from week to week depending on how much stuff is booked for the show.

But if Raw stays at three hours with SmackDown moving to three hours, that's already six hours of programming to keep up with each week. In weeks with a standard premium live event, they will add another roughly three hours on Saturdays.

With SummerSlam going to two nights next year and WrestleMania being a two-night event, then fans could be looking at up to 14 hours of programming in a week. The third hour of Raw was a nice financial boost for WWE, but the final hour routinely drags down the overall rating.

WWE's popularity is on fire right now, but there is a risk of burning out your audience at some point. But a three-hour SmackDown will also mean more money television money, so that will outweigh any other concerns.

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WWE Prioritizes Element of Surprise with Reigns

Fans knew Roman Reigns was coming back sooner or later and his return at SummerSlam wasn't a complete shock since it made the most narrative sense. Still, the promotion decided to play its cards close to the vest when it came to his appearances.

Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp (via H Jenkins of Ringside News) reported that WWE decided to stop promoting Reigns' presence or list him on official rundowns in order to make it feel more special when he did show up.

The Original Tribal Chief most recently showed up Friday on the season premiere of SmackDown and helped Cody Rhodes fend off an attack from The Bloodline.

Now, the stage is set for Reigns and Rhodes to team up and battle Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu at Bad Blood in October.

The novelty with the former world champion lessens slightly now that he'll be a more regular part of WWE programming. Assuming he's likely to maintain a limited schedule moving forward, though, a sense of importance will continue to follow him when he does step inside the ring.

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Barrett Teases Farewell Match with McIntyre

Recent events have drawn attention to a July interview Wade Barrett conducted with AceOdds in which he expressed a desire to have one more match and identified Drew McIntyre as his dream opponent for a show at Wembley Stadium.

"A sold out Wembley Stadium, I think that is the pinnacle for British wrestling, especially if you're fans of the era back when Davey Boy [Smith] and Bret Hart competed in '92 at that Summer Slam," he said.

"If they dangled that in front of me at any point in time, yeah, absolutely. I'm coming back and I'm having that match sold out at Wembley Stadium. But that is a bit of a pipe dream. It's not something I'm actively pursuing or trying to pursue. I'm fit and healthy, if something came up where, 'Okay, there's a match here, would you be interested in doing it?' If it makes sense to me and I was excited to do it, absolutely, I could."

At the time, the idea sounded like a pipe dream with Barrett himself even playing down the likelihood it comes to fruition. Now, circumstances have changed a bit.

McIntyre called out Barrett last Monday on Raw, walking toward the announce table and threatening the wrestler-turned-commentator.

The exchange might've merely been a way for McIntyre to play up his heel tendencies less than a month out from his Hell in a Cell match with CM Punk at Bad Blood. But it's impossible not to connect the dots between that and Barrett's interview.

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Angle Shares Willingness to Manage American Made

Kurt Angle is open to returning to WWE in a managerial capacity if the terms are amenable.

Asked at a virtual signing for K&S Wrestlefest (via Post Wrestling's Andrew Thompson), the WWE Hall of Famer said that the money would have to be "right" in addition to how he'd get utilized. To that end, he said managing Chad Gable and the American Made stable "would be a great idea."

Angle added he "could take some bumps" while ruling out having a full-blown match.

The 55-year-old has long earned praise for his technical abilities in the squared circle, and that has been so much of the focus that his charisma sometimes gets overlooked.

If WWE wanted to lend more legitimacy to American Made or make them a bigger heel threat, then bringing Angle into the fold would be a great move. It sounds like the wrestling legend might drive a hard bargain, though.

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Reported Reason for Punk's Booking at Bash in Berlin

CM Punk scored a decisive victory over Drew McIntyre in a strap match at Bash in Berlin last weekend, and WWE reportedly made a concerted effort to make him look strong in the win.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), the booking of the strap match had a lot to do with the fact that Punk was still in search of his first big win since returning to WWE.

Punk made his return at Survivor Series back in November, and he got injured during his first televised match, which was the 2024 men's Royal Rumble match. Punk then lost his first match back from injury against McIntyre at SummerSlam.

Per Meltzer, WWE "felt [Punk] needed a massive win because he's a massive star," which explains why he hit McIntyre with the GTS four times en route to victory at Bash in Berlin.

Meltzer also noted that WWE knew McIntyre would be fine losing in that fashion since it had a plan in place to give him some momentum back.

That played out Monday night on Raw, as McIntyre brutally attacked Punk and left him with a bloody mouth. McIntyre also took back the bracelet featuring the names of Punk's wife and dog, and destroyed it.

Punk insisted he was done with McIntyre after beating him at Bash in Berlin, but the Scottish Warrior made it clear their rivalry was far from over.

Given the fact that they have one win each against each other and because of the personal nature of their feud, all signs point toward them potentially settling things inside Hell in a Cell at Bad Blood next month.

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WWE Reportedly Planning Rhodes vs. Sikoa Rematch

WWE is teasing a WWE Championship rematch between Cody Rhodes and Solo Sikoa, but it reportedly may not happen when most are expecting it to.

According to Meltzer (h/t Mukherjee), another Rhodes vs. Sikoa match is in the works, however, it is not scheduled to occur next month at the Bad Blood premium live event.

After Rhodes beat Kevin Owens to retain the undisputed WWE Championship at Bash in Berlin, the commentary team immediately began talking about the expectation that Rhodes would face Sikoa next.

Rhodes and Sikoa clashed in the main event of SummerSlam, but Roman Reigns interfered and helped Cody win as payback against Solo for taking over as Tribal Chief of The Bloodline during his absence.

With help from Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, Sikoa attacked Reigns on a subsequent episode of SmackDown and put him on the shelf.

Meltzer noted that while it is not 100 percent confirmed when Rhodes vs. Sikoa will happen, he "wouldn't be surprised" if it is booked for the first episode of SmackDown on USA Network.

This week marks the final SmackDown on Fox, and it will transition to USA Network starting on Sept. 13.

WWE would undoubtedly love to have a big main event to promote for that show, plus it could likely draw even more viewership with the insinuation that Reigns may return on that episode to get revenge against Sikoa again.

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WWE Wrestlers Reportedly Told to Be Mindful of Cursing

WWE leadership reportedly held a meeting Monday with a focus on reminding Superstars to be careful with their use of language.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Wrestle Ops), WWE talent was told to be "mindful" of cursing while on camera due to the fact that WWE is still presenting a TV-PG product.

Since former longtime WWE chairman, CEO and head of creative Vince McMahon resigned from the company in January amid allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual assault in a lawsuit, WWE has clearly gotten a bit more relaxed with its content.

For years, there was a strict ban on the use of blood unless it happened accidentally, but new head of creative Triple H has used blood in certain scenarios to enhance stories.

Also, there have been more adult themes at times than in the past, but for the most part, WWE has refrained from having its talents use vulgar language in promos.

There are exceptions to the rule, though, with The Rock being the most obvious one, as he dropped his fair share of F-bombs during his feud with Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins leading up to WrestleMania 40.

WWE was able to censor The Rock, but most of his swearing occurred in promos he cut on social media rather than the ones he cut on Raw or SmackDown.

There is a great deal of intrigue surrounding whether WWE will loosen the reins even more once Raw moves from USA Network to Netflix in January, but as of now, WWE still wants to appeal to a family audience.

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CM Punk evened things up in his rivalry with Drew McIntyre at WWE Bash in Berlin on Saturday, beating The Scottish Warrior in a strap match.

McIntyre blindsided Punk before the contest started and dominated for much of it as a result, but The Best in the World shifted the momentum in his favor and hit the Scot with the GTS multiple times en route to touching all four turnbuckles and winning the match.

Perhaps most importantly for Punk, he also took back the bracelet bearing his wife and dog's names from McIntyre.

WHAT A MOMENT!#WWEBash pic.twitter.com/ZmeSegMJAs

— WWE (@WWE) August 31, 2024

Saturday's bout was a long time coming, as the two men have been at odds since shortly after Punk returned to WWE in November last year at Survivor Series.

Punk tore his triceps during the men's Royal Rumble match in January, which rendered him unable to compete at WrestleMania 40. McIntyre reveled in that fact, and his rival vowed to eventually get revenge.

He got some measure of it at WrestleMania when he served as a guest commentator for the World Heavyweight Championship match between McIntyre and Seth Rollins. After winning, the Scot taunted Punk, so Punk attacked him, and Damian Priest took advantage by successfully cashing in his Money in the Bank contract.

Punk also screwed over McIntyre at Clash at the Castle in his home country of Scotland, posing as a referee and hitting the two-time WWE champion with a low blow, which allowed Priest to retain the world title.

McIntyre got some payback by beating Punk to a bloody pulp and stealing the previously mentioned bracelet, and that further fueled The Second City Saint's desire to make the Scot's life miserable.

When McIntyre tried to cash in his Money in the Bank contract during a world title match between Priest and Seth Rollins at the same-titled premium live event, Punk emerged and cost The Scottish Warrior once again.

All of that led to a grudge match between Punk and McIntyre at SummerSlam once the former was cleared to compete, and it was made even more compelling by the presence of Rollins as special guest referee.

Punk had his opportunities to win, but he got distracted by McIntyre and then Rollins being in possession of the bracelet, and the Scot took advantage to win.

McIntyre suggested after SummerSlam that he was ready to move on from Punk, but The Best in the World insisted on another match, and he pressed the issue by attacking the Scot with a strap, which is how Saturday's stipulation came into play.

With Punk getting his win back against McIntyre at Bash in Berlin, it stands to reason that a rubber match could be in the offing in the near future.

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For the first time in WWE history, a premium live event will take place in Germany this weekend.

Bash in Berlin will emanate from Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany, on Saturday, and it will feature many of the top stars WWE has to offer in several high-stakes matches.

The main attraction will arguably be world heavyweight champion Gunther, who will get the chance to wrestle close to his home country of Austria against bona fide WWE legend Randy Orton.

Other major bouts include Cody Rhodes defending the undisputed WWE Championship against his close friend Kevin Owens, and CM Punk and Drew McIntyre continuing their heated rivalry in a strap match.

Here is everything you need to know about Bash in Berlin, including a full look at the card and predictions for the match order.

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Where: Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany

When: Saturday, Aug. 31 at 1 p.m. ET

Watch: Peacock

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WWE Bash in Berlin 2024 Card and Projected Match Order

• Rhea Ripley & Damian Priest vs. Liv Morgan & Dominik Mysterio
• Strap Match: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre
• WWE Women's Tag Team Championships: Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn (c) vs. Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill
• Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Kevin Owens
• World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Randy Orton

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Top Bash in Berlin Matches to Watch

Gunther vs. Randy Orton

Gunther won his first world title in WWE by beating Damian Priest at SummerSlam, and it wasn't long before his first challenger was determined.

Randy Orton lost to Gunther in the King of the Ring finals back in May, but it wasn't without controversy, as Orton's shoulder was clearly up during the pinfall.

WWE head of creative Triple H said at the time that he would run it back when the time was right, and that time came once The Ring General won the World Heavyweight Championship.

Orton was granted a world heavyweight title opportunity as restitution for what happened at King and Queen of the Ring, and he vowed to beat Gunther and become a 15-time world champion.

While the in-ring acumen of Gunther and Orton is rarely questioned, they both did an excellent on the mic during the build toward their match, which added even more excitement.

Gunther and Orton showed back in May that they have plenty of in-ring chemistry, and there is plenty of reason to believe they will raise the bar and put on an even better showing at Bash in Berlin.

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CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre

The long-running feud between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre will see another chapter written at Bash in Berlin when they clash in a strap match.

The issues between Punk and McIntyre date back to late last year, and they were intensified when McIntyre took great joy in Punk getting injured during the men's Royal Rumble match.

Punk subsequently screwed McIntyre out of the world title on multiple occasions, including at WrestleMania 40 and in his home country of Scotland at Clash at the Castle.

In return, McIntyre brutally attacked Punk at one point and stole a bracelet that bears the names of his wife and dog, and Punk has been on a mission to get it back ever since.

That obsession cost Punk dearly at SummerSlam, as he was more worried about the bracelet than finishing off McIntyre, and The Scottish Warrior took advantage by scoring the victory over their Punk.

With things between them being far from resolved, they will do battle once again at Bash in Berlin, and it will be in a match type that could yield bloody results.

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Rhea Ripley & Damian Priest vs. Liv Morgan & Dominik Mysterio

One of the hottest storylines in pro wrestling will be featured at Bash in Berlin when Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest team up to face Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio in a mixed tag team match.

Ripley and Priest were long the pillars of The Judgment Day, but it all came crashing down at SummerSlam when Dominik turned his back on Rhea and helped Liv beat her to retain the Women's World Championship.

Then, during Priest's World Heavyweight Championship defense against Gunther, Finn Bálor turned on him, marking a new era in The Judgment Day.

Ripley has made it clear that she intends to get revenge on Dom and Liv, and while Priest wants to get his hands on Bálor, he first decided to lend his support to his Terror Twins partner.

While Ripley and Priest are the heavy favorites at Bash in Berlin should everything be on the straight and narrow, the possibility of The Judgment Day interfering could give Dominik and Liv a shot.

Regardless of the result, fans are eagerly anticipating the possibility of Rhea taking the fight to Dominik and making him pay for his actions.

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Chris Jericho Dismisses Retirement Talk

A few months away from his 54th birthday, Chris Jericho has no desire to retire from professional wrestling.

During an interview with the Daily Star (starts at 28:00 mark), Jericho made a point of saying "f--k off" when fans were chanting "please retire" at him earlier this year.

"To me, when the 'please retire' chants were going, I was laughing because I have zero intentions of that. I've got a six pack, I can do a moonsault, and I know exactly what I'm doing in the ring. I know how to write storylines. I like the company I work for. I like my boss. I like the guys and girls in the company. Why would I want to retire? What's the point because someone told me to? F*ck off. I remember the (Rolling) Stones in '89, when they did the Steel Wheels Tour, they were calling it the Steel Wheelchair Tour. 'The Stones are too old. The Stones should retire.' I just saw The Stones two months ago and they were amazing. They didn't care. You retire when you know it's time and you know it's right. It's not the right time right now. Until that moment where I feel, 'This needs to stop,' I have no intentions (of retiring). There is no time limit. It could be this week. It could be five years from now. I don't know. I just know that as of this moment, I'm having a great time. I love going to work. I love contributing. There is no reason to stop doing that."

There was a moment when it seemed like Jericho was receiving go-away heat. The "please retire" chants occurred during his match with Hook at Dynasty that saw him win the FTW championship.

As has happened throughout his career, Jericho managed to use the fan response to his benefit. He adopted his new character of "The Learning Tree" in the wake of it and is leading a new stable that has helped elevate Big Bill and Bryan Keith into featured players on AEW television.

Jericho has used his profile in AEW over the years to help elevate new talent. He gave Action Andretti a clean win in Andretti's first AEW match in December 2022. You can argue that AEW fumbled the ball with Andretti after that moment, but it's not Jericho's fault.

Next up for Jericho is a rematch with Hook for the FTW title at All in on Sunday. This will be the third singles match between the two this year, with each winning once.

Undertaker Prefers 2-Hour Raw

Even though Raw has been a three-hour show since the 1,000th episode aired in July 2012, The Undertaker thinks it's too much television to run on a weekly basis.

On the most recent episode of his Six Feet Under podcast (starts at 1:07:53), Undertaker recalled a time he was sitting in the guerilla position with Triple H and Bruce Prichard during a Raw show and making a joke that it's too long:

"The whole time I sat up at Gorilla Position with Paul and Bruce Prichard, and then myself, we're sitting up there. I was like, 'This show's really three hours long?' I know it is, but I was just like, when you guys go to Netflix, is this show gonna cut back down to two hours? Three hours, why three hours? [Laughs] It's been three hours forever now, but I was just kind of trying to stress the point of three hours is a lot of wrestling on a Monday night."

While the third hour of Raw does give more time for superstars to establish themselves and storylines to play out, the simple reason why it remains three hours is because of money.

More hours of programming means more television money for WWE. USA paid $265 million per year on a five-year contract to retain Raw in 2018, nearly doubling the previous annual price of $150 million.

Raw will move to Netflix in January on a deal that could be worth $5 billion over 10 years. This will actually make the show longer for television viewers subscribed to the streamer's ad-free tier because they won't get commercial breaks.

Fortunately, WWE is in a very good spot with more talent on the roster than it has ever had before. This makes it much easier to watch a three-hour weekly broadcast compared to 2019 when Miz's dad was fighting Shane McMahon on television.

Drew McIntyre Praises Triple H's Leadership

There has been no shortage of praise heaped upon Triple H since he took over the creative in WWE, with Drew McIntyre being the latest to commend the job he's doing.

Appearing on The Masked Man Show (h/t Julien D'Alessandro of Wrestling Inc.), McIntyre explained that one benefit of Triple H's tenure is the creative freedom provided that allows wrestlers to find their characters:

"The creative environment with WWE, Triple H kind of leading the charge, there's this freedom that feels like I've never felt before ... to truly go all the way now and you see so many different people, guys and girls across the board finding themselves — and we got so many superstars now. The show doesn't revolve around the same two or three people."

Among the many criticisms of WWE's previous creative team when Vince McMahon was the constant start-stop push given to wrestlers. It was impossible to get invested in any storyline because a superstar who was being pushed one week could just as easily get buried the next.

The Triple H regime has clearly made a point of prioritizing the development of new stars without sacrificing old ones. Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, Tiffany Stratton, Liv Morgan, Jade Cargill, Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa are among the wrestlers who have been pushed as top-level stars in the past year or so.

McIntyre has been in WWE for years and was already established as a top guy, but he's in the midst of the best run of his career during this feud with CM Punk. The Scottish Warrior is playing a variation of the Bret Hart heel character from 1997 by telling the truth in a way the fans don't like.

The vibes have been great in WWE for a long time now, and there is no indication things are slowing down anytime soon.

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