Jimmy Smith Praises Triple H for Shaking Up the WWE Raw Format

– During his Unlocking the Cage podcast this week, WWE broadcaster Jimmy Smith noted on Triple H’s handling of WWE Raw, praising him for shaking things up on the show and freshening up the format, citing the feud between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle. Smith said the following (via Fightful):

“This is that, kind of, Triple H likes shaking it, up he really does. That’s why we’ve had stuff where, with Seth Rollins and Riddle, we started out a show, I’m doing the open, and they come brawling out of Gorilla. ‘Oh my God!’ I did another open, and they interrupted again with another brawl. It’s really difficult for me, because I’m always reacting to something, but it’s fresh. It’s different. Having two guys do an interview like they were, talking trash, we’ve all seen that before. To have this mot mic moment, it’s different. It’s interesting, it’s fresh.”

During the podcast, Smith’s co-host asked him about the interview clip resembling the outtake from the Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier ESPN interview, where Jones told Cormier, “Hey pussy, are you still there?” In the WWE Raw segment, Rollins similarly says, “Yo Riddle, are you still there?” The co-host then wondered if Smith, a former MMA fighter and broadcaster, if Smith gave Rollins notes for that exchange. Smith laughed and said, “Maybe, maybe not.”