– According to this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Triple H’s ongoing angle with Curtis Axel was originally scheduled to climax at SummerSlam. However, with recent Raw episodes indicating it will lead to a match between both individuals at this month’s Payback pay-per-view event, the storyline was promoted ahead of schedule due to WWE’s decision to combat potentially low ratings at all costs. This decision, however, was not fruitful as Monday’s Raw was the lowest-rated episode of the year going head-to-head with TNT’s presentation of the 2013 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers.
– In an effort to combat ratings competition from the NBA Playoffs, Vince McMahon wants WWE’s live event booking staff to schedule Raw events in “hot” wrestling cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago and New York City for Mondays when late round Game Sixes and Sevens may take place. He believes if Raw viewers witness a hot crowd in the opening segment at 8:00 p.m., they will be less likely to tune out once the game starts.
– Drew McIntyre turns 28-years-old on Thursday.
(source: F4WOnline.com)
