Backstage Rumor on WWE Changing Match Intro Presentation

– Per WrestlingInc.com, WWE made a presentational change at last week’s TV tapings, which included last Friday’s episode of Smackdown, last night’s episode of Raw, this week’s Friday Night Smackdown (July 9), and Raw for next week (July 13). The change was opting to remove ring announcers from being in the ring for match introductions.

Per the report, the plan is to “only” have ring announcers in the ring to perform the introductions if there’s a title on the line. However, there were no ring introductions for AJ Styles vs. Drew Gulak for the Intercontinental title on last week’s Smackdown show. The match started after it came from a commercial break, when Styles and Gulak got into a pre-match brawl in the previous segment. So, it appears this new rule might not always be the case.

Generally, WWE has always had the ring announcers doing the introductions for all their matches. It’s unknown how long this specific change will last.