Report: Vince McMahon made "drastic changes" to tonight's WWE Raw

According to a report from Sean Ross Sapp and Fightful.com, tonight's episode of WWE Raw has Vince McMahon's fingerprints all over it.

Before the show went on the air, Fightful Select reported that McMahon had made "drastic changes" to it. Nothing has been cut from the show, according to the site, but elements - such as the opening segment - had been altered.

Tonight's opening, which took place a few moments before this writing, saw current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins attacked by his Money in the Bank opponent, Finn Balor, before Rollins could defend his title in an open challenge.

WWE

@WWE

What an unexpected way to kick off #WWERaw!

2466

444

What an unexpected way to kick off #WWERaw! 😲 https://t.co/PM6txfjcII

Vince McMahon hasn't exactly been "hands off" since returning to WWE

Nearly one year ago, McMahon announced his retirement from WWE. This was following a series of scandals, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which involved alleged hush money payments from McMahon to former WWE employees.

Following that announcement, WWE management changed significantly. McMahon's daughter Stephanie took the Co-CEO role alongside former WWE President Nick Khan. Stephanie's husband, WWE Hall of Famer Triple H, took over Vince's duties in the creative department, stepping into the new role of Chief Content Officer.

A little under a year later, however, Vince McMahon would return to WWE as Chairman, insisting that his return was only to help facilitate a sale of the company. This would eventually happen as WWE and Endeavor announced a merger that would put the sports entertainment brand and Endeavor's UFC under the same umbrella.

Since his return, WWE has been adamant that Triple H is 100% in charge of the creative direction of the company. However, there have been numerous reports that, despite the fact that he's no longer part of the creative team, McMahon has had a significant impact on the direction of WWE programming.

Do you feel that Vince McMahon has input in WWE's creative direction? Let us know in the comments.

​

​