WWE News: WWE Officials Changed the Finish For Multiple Matches at ‘WWE Payback’ at the Last Minute
Heading into WWE Payback, it was rumored that the PPV would be mostly uneventful, but that was before WWE officials decided to make big changes to the card at the last minute. The WWE Universe was surprised about Chris Jericho defeating Kevin Owens to become the U.S. Champion. There was speculation about Alexa Bliss beating Bayley for the Raw Women’s Title as well, but WWE pulled the trigger on that title change too.
It was rumored that WWE officials were planning no big surprises or any major title changes during WWE Payback, but the powers that be changed their minds at some point over the weekend. The rest of the PPV was full of surprises and at least left the WWE Universe with something to discuss after the show was over.
Now, WWE Payback is in the history books and the fans want to know what comes next. However, a lot of people are still wondering why WWE decided to make some title changes and if they made other changes. A new report has brought to light some new information about what WWE officials changed to the card.
It’s being reported that WWE officials were on the fence about Alexa Bliss winning the Raw Women’s Title on Sunday until the last minute. Recently, hometown heroes have walked into title matches on PPV and lost more often than not. WWE Payback was in Bayley’s hometown of San Jose, which WWE officials felt was the right opportunity to take the Raw Women’s Title off her to invoke sympathy from the WWE Universe.
Unfortunately, it’s unknown what the deciding factor was for WWE officials to decide to go with Alexa Bliss, but she made history to become the first woman to hold both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s titles. The expectation is that Charlotte would receive that honor eventually, but the choice was made for that moment to go to Bliss. It was the latest Raw Women’s Title change, but the fans weren’t surprised because of Bliss.
She was a two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion when she moved to Raw a few weeks ago. WWE fans were just under the impression that Bayley’s title reign would last for a while and eventually renew the feud with Sasha Banks. Now, the WWE Universe is wondering if losing the title is a reflection on Bayley’s spot as the top female face on Raw. She’s likely to receive her rematch soon, which will say a lot about her future.
Before the PPV, the WWE Universe assumed that Neville’s Cruiserweight Championship was the only title that may change hands on the show. Interestingly enough, Austin Aries failed for the second time to capture the title from Neville, but WWE decided they did not want the match to end clean. Neville was disqualified after attacking the referee, which was done because the Aries vs. Neville rivalry is expected to continue.
Braun Strowman beating Roman Reigns in the main event and Chris Jericho winning the U.S. Championship from Kevin Owens were also two of the biggest stories coming out of WWE Payback, but there isn’t any new information on those matches. It seems that WWE officials made up their minds about Strowman defeating Reigns and temporarily writing him off WWE television and Jericho’s U.S. Title reign was a part of the plan.
Apparently, WWE officials weren’t finished “shaking up” the landscape of WWE after WrestleMania 33. The “Superstar Shakeup” changed the rosters around but the powers that be had some fresh ideas about how to book Raw after the roster changes. Now, the WWE Universe just needs to wait to see what happens next.
[Featured Image by WWE]
