Vince Russo explains WWE's real motive for booking JD McDonagh against Seth Rollins (Exclusive)
Seth Rollins picked up a win over JD McDonagh en route to WWE Crown Jewel, and while reviewing the recent RAW, Vince Russo delved deeper into the company's outdated methods of getting talents over.
Despite being a rookie on the main roster, JD McDonagh got in some offense against the World Heavyweight Champion, and Vince Russo felt WWE officials believed it could be enough to get the former NXT star over.
This week, Russo spoke from WWE's perspective and said that, in their opinion, a superstar being able to "hang with" a top star in the ring would get a reaction out of the crowd. There was an obvious pattern, as per the former writer, who recalled Sami Zayn and Drew McIntyre's recent RAW match also following the same narrative.
Russo explained on the latest Legion of RAW:
"This is their idea of how they think they are getting these guys over. If McDoungh can hang with Seth, in their mind, he is getting over. This is what they do, bro. They did it last week. Who was it? Zayn and McIntyre last week. If Sami gives him a hell of a match, Sami is really going to be over. Really, bro?" [46:30 – 48:00]
WWE teased a massive upset in JD McDonagh vs. Seth Rollins on RAW
Despite his upcoming world title showdown against Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins has also dealt the Judgment Day threat. This week, he faced a superstar who is trying his best to find a spot in RAW's top faction.
JD McDonagh interrupted Rollins' promo, and the early stages of the match had the babyface champion on top. McDonagh had his moments, too, as he scored a close pinfall with a Spanish Fly.
Damian Priest came out with a referee mid-match, teasing a potential MITB cash-in, and it caused a massive distraction for Seth Rollins. The Viosnary still managed to hit his signature and finishing moves on McDonagh for the three-count.
He might have been successful on RAW, but do you predict Rollins walking out of Saudi Arabia as champion? Sound off in the comments section below.
Please credit the Legion of RAW podcast, embed the exclusive YouTube video, and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.