The WWE's cancellation of Talking Smack has been met with resistance from fans, loating losing one of the most unique ways to connect with SmackDown Live! talent. 

The decision was made seemingly out of nowhere, even taking co-hosts Renee Young and Daniel Bryan by surprise as the news trickled down the grapevine. The weekly post-SmackDown Live! talk show will now be exclusive to airing after blue brand pay-per-views. 

Rumors point to Vince McMahon pulling the plug on the show due to questions regarding whether the show was hurting the WWE, though a source within the company has told the Wrestling Observer Newsletter crew that's not the case. It may have been one specific segment that triggered McMahon to make the decision, though. 

McMahon was reportedly upset that The New Day's SmackDown Live! debut following the Superstar Shake-Up was used on Talking Smack as opposed to the show itself, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The New Day joining SmackDown Live! was one of the biggest moves of the Superstar Shake-Up, and it sounds like Vince didn't like that what should have been a big debut for the blue brand was used up on the weekly talk show. That's an understandable sentiment, to an extent.

It also points back to McMahon having questions about whether Talking Smack was hurting the company. While a source may deny it, it's clear in the specific example cited by the Wrestling Observer falls into that exact category. 

The New Day was being held off of television while Kofi Kingston recovered from an ankle injury, and it's understandable that McMahon would have preferred a SmackDown Live! debut that had some pomp and circumstance behind it. Popping up on the talk show took away from what could have been a larger moment for the group. 

The WWE has been unclear about why the show is being re-packaged, releasing a vague statement regarding WWE Network viewership and "subscriber research."

"We continuously review WWE Network's programming line-up based on a variety of factors, including viewership and subscriber research. Talking Smack and Raw Talk will air following pay-per-view events, and Tuesday will continue to feature 205 Live," the WWE said in a statement. 

Talking Smack will be sorely missed by fans, who've been vocal about the WWE's decision to suddenly remove one of their favorite bits of original programming. Life will go on, but making sense of the cancellation has become one of the more interesting backstage stories to make sense of.