The Raw Underground experiment on Monday Night Raw appears to be finished, at least for now.
In his latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that Raw Underground "is considered done" for the time being, with WWE having no immediate plans to return to the shoot-style fight segments that had been hosted by Shane McMahon on the company's Monday night flagship program in recent months.
The Raw Underground segments, initially developed in response to Raw's flagging ratings amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, had been put temporarily on hold in recent weeks due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the brand. Specifically, there was concern that the extras who surrounded the ring had potentially been exposed to the virus. Those fears have since been put to rest, but the decision was apparently made that Underground would not be part of a newly reset Raw in the aftermath of the recently completed WWE Draft.
Presented as a more gritty, realistic brand of fighting and offering a clear distinction from standard Raw storylines, the underground fight club served to highlight superstars with legitimate grappling backgrounds and introduce some new faces. Underground segments included the likes of former amateur wrestling stars Dolph Ziggler and Erik, as well as WWE newcomer Dabba-Kato. However, Meltzer reports that although the MMA-inspired idea was spearheaded by his son, Vince McMahon was never fully on board. He had given it a chance in pursuit of outside-the-box ideas to drive ratings, but never understood the appeal.
WWE Monday Night Raw airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on the USA Network.
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, via Wrestling Inc.