Raw/Smackdown Rivalry Was Heating Up Backstage Before Changes (Patreon)

 In following up on the Paul Heyman-Bruce Prichard shakeup, we learned that Paul Heyman especially was known to take the idea of a Raw vs. Smackdown rivalry seriously, and applied it to his work and the mentality of the show. Heyman was said to have been very proud of the likes of Apollo Crews, Austin Theory, Angel Garza, and many of the wrestlers that he used that weren't being used prior. He went to great lengths particularly to get Buddy Murphy on Raw, and wanted to build more for the future of Raw.