WWE’s seemingly-sudden decision to replace Kevin Nash with Triple H in the Night of Champions match with CM Punk has pro wrestling insiders buzzing.
Update: A more definitive backstage report on why WWE pulled Kevin Nash is now available.
Why would WWE bypass the obvious Punk-Nash match, one which it only further built up on Monday’s RAW? And why would it hot-shot the Triple H vs. CM Punk bout, one it wanted to preserve until the November Survivor Series pay-per-view?
Various sources are reporting a rumor that something from Nash’s recent medical evaluation produced a red flag, thereby erasing WWE’s interest in having him perform in the ring.
Supported by credible insiders, that rumor is nonetheless not entirely consistent with what happened on Monday’s RAW.
In addition to announcing the CM Punk vs. Kevin Nash match at the beginning of RAW, WWE actively built the bout when Nash powerbombed Punk midway through the show. Medical results obviously did not come back at 10:30PM, so if medicals are indeed the reason Nash cannot wrestle at Night of Champions, WWE would have known that prior to going live Monday.
Why, then, would it spend a show making viewers want to see CM Punk vs. Kevin Nash, only to pull a bait-and-switch at the last second? If it knew all along it was going with CM Punk vs. Triple H, WWE would have been better served using this RAW to promote THAT match.
As F4WOnline.com notes, it would have been one thing if WWE setup the announcement as a cliffhanger to get people to tune into Tuesday’s Super SmackDown! But nothing about HHH’s announcement at the end of RAW was ambiguous–though WWE could conceivably change the plan again, nothing about that closing RAW segment suggested Nash vs. Punk might still happen.
This logic train thus produces speculation that something happened between the time Nash delivered the powerbomb and the end of the show. And if that is the case, further reports should emerge to clarify the issue.
