The Intercontinental Championship match closed out a pay-per-view for the first time in many years but that wasn’t the original plan.
Dave Meltzer, in a post on the Wrestling Observer Forum, noted that Bobby Lashley vs. Roman Reigns was originally supposed to close out the show but those plans changed a few hours before Extreme Rules went on the air on the WWE Network.
Meltzer wrote, “I was told midweek it was the main event and then told it was changed the day of the show for reasons having to do with fear of the crowd crapping on it.”
Vince McMahon was in Florida on Sunday night but he was still in communication with people backstage so there is a good chance that he is the one who made the decision to shuffle the card.
This isn’t uncommon because the initial plans for the Money In The Bank show in June were for the Raw Women’s Championship match between Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey to close out the show. McMahon changed his mind before the show and decided that the Men’s Money In The Bank should close out the show because he wanted the visual of Braun Strowman on top of the ladder with the briefcase to end the show.
As usual, plans change frequently whenever McMahon is hands on with everything.
