John Cena Promo on RAW Caused Major Problems for WWE
John Cena’s 30-minute opening promo segment on WWE Raw from Brussels led to time adjustments for later matches, including a condensed Jey Uso victory.
John Cena started Raw in Brussels, Belgium on March 17 with a promo segment that extended beyond its planned duration. The segment, combining Cena’s address and Cody Rhodes’ response, consumed more than 30 minutes of broadcast time.
The European crowd expressed their reaction to Cena’s first appearance since his heel turn at Elimination Chamber through loud boos and chants.
The extended opening segment led to time adjustments for three scheduled matches. Dakota Kai defeated Ivy Nile in under 3 minutes, while the LWO secured a victory against The Creeds in less than 6 minutes.
Jey Uso’s match against Austin Theory saw the most significant reduction, concluding in 29 seconds with Uso winning via cross body. The post-match confrontation between Uso and Gunther exceeded the match duration.
According to Sportskeeda’s Backstage Pass podcast, WrestleVotes noted the original plan for the match structure.
This match was spaced out for 11 minutes last night. I don’t know if Cena drawing out the opening of the show affected it, I know it affected other things on the show.
WWE continues to maintain an overall runtime target despite Raw’s move to Netflix, as the company schedules dark matches after broadcasts and considers personnel travel arrangements.
