WWE News: Possible spoiler for next week's 'Wild Card Rule' on Raw and SmackDown Live
What's the story?
Vince McMahon announced on the May 6 episode of Raw that WWE will now have a ‘Wild Card Rule’, which means a select few Superstars from Raw and SmackDown Live will be allowed to appear on the opposing brand.
Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, Kofi Kingston, Elias and Lars Sullivan showed up on Monday’s Raw, while commentator Michael Cole teased at the end of the broadcast that red brand Superstars could appear on Tuesday’s SmackDown Live.
Moving forward, it is unclear how often this ‘Wild Card Rule’ will be enforced, but there is a hint on WWE’s website which suggests it may not be in place next week.
In case you didn't know…
The 2019 Superstar Shake-Up has been widely mocked by fans after WWE decided to expand the two-night roster changes over multiple episodes of Raw and SmackDown Live.
In the last three weeks, Andrade, Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, Cesaro, Samoa Joe, Jinder Mahal, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel have appeared on new brands, despite being assigned to a different show following the Shake-Up.
WWE cancelled a live event in Corbin, Kentucky which was scheduled to take place on Monday, meaning SmackDown Live’s Superstars were available to appear on Monday’s episode of Raw.
Vince McMahon initially wanted to reprimand Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston when they interrupted him during the opening segment. However, he had a change of heart and decided to embrace their appearances on Raw by announcing a ‘Wild Card Rule’ which will enable a limited number of Superstars to make a one-night appearance on the opposing brand.
The heart of the matter
The entire roster has been available to show up on either brand this week, but WWE will find itself in a different position for next week's episodes of Raw and SmackDown Live.
The May 13 episode of Raw will be pre-recorded in London, England, while a SmackDown Live live event will take place at the same time in Bournemouth, England.
The following night, SmackDown Live will also be pre-recorded in London, England, while a Raw live event is scheduled for the same night in Paris, France.
WWE’s website is currently advertising major SmackDown stars including Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston for Monday’s live event in Bournemouth, which presumably means they will not appear on Raw, while the likes of Seth Rollins and AJ Styles will take part in the Raw live event in Paris on Tuesday.
What's next?
Unless WWE decides to use any of these Superstars in pre-recorded backstage segments, it would appear as though the company’s biggest names will not appear on opposing brands during the May 13-14 episodes of Raw and SmackDown Live.
For now, we await to see when the next ‘Wild Card Rule’ will be enforced!