Vince McMahon moved top WWE star to SmackDown to "mess" with network executives
Vince McMahon drafted WWE superstar John Cena to SmackDown from RAW just to "mess" with network officials, according to former writer Freddie Prinze Jr.
On his recent Wrestling with Freddie podcast, Freddie Prinze Jr. gave his opinion on a recent rumor that the USA Network, which airs WWE RAW, has requested the company to have a world champion on the Red brand.
The former writer rejected those rumors, stating that the network doesn't have the power to make those kinds of decisions. He added Vince McMahon declined more requests from the network than approved them. He also recalled a story about how McMahon moved John Cena to the Blue brand as a rib against the network.
"But, Vince said 'no' way more often than he said 'yes' and they had a partnership that lasted forever and is still ongoing. So there's a big difference when a company owns your show as to when a company is licensing your show. They can say, 'Hey, you know, please keep John Cena on Monday Night RAW.' And I remember one night on the Draft just to mess with them, Vince - and this was just for his own amusement - said, 'We're going to draft him to SmackDown and then at the end of the show, we'll draft him back to RAW [laughs]. That'll drive 'em crazy over there.' And we're sitting in there like, 'Yo, this guy's just playing with network executives.' Actors don't get to do that. Right? I was so jealous," said Freddie Prinze Jr. [From 20:19 to 20:56]
USA Network reportedly wanted an interim world champion on Raw https://t.co/3VFpWhI7lC
The Draft that Freddie Prize Jr. may have referred to could be the 2011 Draft when Cena was moved to SmackDown and back to RAW in the same Draft.
When does WWE's deal with USA Network expire?
Celebrate with all of your favorite @WWE #Raw superstars on #Raw's 25th Anniversary TOMORROW at 8/7c. https://t.co/i5O6yyLlEx
WWE signed a five-year deal with the USA Network in 2018 to air Raw every Monday night. The deal, which came into effect in 2019, will expire in September 2024, along with FOX's deal for SmackDown.
USA Network and WWE have had a long-standing partnership, with the network airing the pro wrestling promotion's programming since 1993.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Wrestling with Freddie and H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription