WWE RAW Underground came out as a revolutionary idea in the recent past years that was never seen in pro wrestling. It started two years ago in August 2020, during the pandemic but got cancelled soon after.
A returning Shane McMahon was seemingly the brains behind this idea, and it seemed WWE had a winner on their hands as he announced RAW Underground, which was essentially an underground fight club where wrestlers fought each other in MMA style shoot (kayfabe) fights. It was a desperate attempt to improve the ratings of RAW by Shane-O-Mac.
WWE Raw Underground has been canceled after 8 weeks!
AdvertisementDid you enjoy it or was it a bad idea from stupid creative? #wweraw #RawUnderground pic.twitter.com/siCEImgdoo
— Niko Exxtra (@nikoexxtra) October 16, 2020
It happened at a dingy basement somewhere unknown and wrestlers with disputes would settle it in shoot fights that were presided over by Shane McMahon who also acted as a booker of the fights each week. It added a realistic angle to WWE in its run.
Which Superstars competed on WWE RAW Underground?
The Underground club had participants like Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, The Hurt Business and Shayna Baszler that also introduced new blood to WWE like Dabba-Kato (Commander Azeez) and Arturo Ruas (released).
As per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, RAW Underground was put down because WWE was following the COVID-19 norms. They were afraid that the cheering extras on the ringside had the potential of bringing the virus from outside and spreading it on the main roster superstars participating in it. They even wanted to separate the NXT Superstar participants with their main roster counterparts to protect the filming of main shows.
Braun Strowman vs. Dabba Kato set for WWE Raw Underground https://t.co/3hjZjrQrTB pic.twitter.com/skpXln9V0H
— Wrestling Observer (@WONF4W) September 15, 2020
Another reason for its discontinuation was a drop in ratings. It had been created to boost RAW’s dropping ratings in its third hour, and it did just that but only for the first few weeks. Audiences started turning away again in spite of it being shown in the third hour of the show.
Despite the pandemic dying down now, we are yet to see this segment re surface, as Shane has left the company as well. Maybe he has the rights to it, who knows!
