"It's worse than we thought" - Triple H reveals WWE talent got injured before SmackDown

There have reportedly not been a lot of rewrites before shows during the Triple H era, unlike when Vince McMahon was in charge. Something happened before the January 3 episode of Smackdown, with the Chief Content Officer confirming that injuries forced some last-minute changes.

WrestleVotes reported before the show that there were some changes, including a potential title change. It turned out to be true with Tiffany Stratton winning the WWE Women's Championship from Nia Jax.

According to PWInsider, the opening segment also underwent changes, with Jey Uso's involvement scrapped. SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis also announced before the show that The Street Profits were injured and unable to challenge for the WWE Tag Team Championship.

On The Press Box podcast, Triple H explained that changes always happen after being asked about WrestleMania 41. He set Friday's episode of SmackDown as an example of injuries and illness causing last-minute chaos, which was part of being in WWE.

"This Friday night, we had the show written up, and it was really good, and it moved a lot of stories forward. And then we get word talent are injured, and its (…) went in for an MRI and it’s worse than we thought, and he’s out. Okay, alright. So we got to rewrite that whole storyline. Then we're literally finishing the production meeting, and we just said, ‘All right guys, have a great day.’ My phone buzzes, and I look down, and it’s medical, and I get the, ‘So-and-so has flu really bad. We’re telling them don’t come to the building and sending them home. Cannot work. Okay, ‘Everybody, don’t go anywhere, sit back down because we gotta rewrite that aspect of the show.’ That’s constant." [H/T: Fightful]

It's unclear whether The Street Profits are legitimately injured, but they were replaced on the card by The Motor City Machine Guns. However, an interference from Los Garza and Pretty Deadly resulted in a no-contest, allowing Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa to retain the WWE Tag Team Title.

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Triple H comments on possible Stephanie McMahon appearance on RAW's Netflix debut

Stephanie McMahon might be busy spending quality time with her daughters and Triple H, but she's still part of the WWE family. In a chat with Sports Illustrated, the Chief Content Officer confirmed that Stephanie was still passionate about the business and teased her appearance on RAW's premiere show on Netflix.

"She will always have a passion for this. Whether she decides to come in and do some stuff, I think she weighs that on her mind all the time. It's the, 'I want to do that, but I have to give up all this time with my kids that I'll never get back.' She's enjoying her time with them very much, so giving that up would be a tough push right now. You'll see her around. Maybe at Netflix," Triple H said. [H/T: Sports Illustrated]

Stephanie's last appearance on WWE television was at SummerSlam 2024, sitting at ringside as part of the crowd.