The landscape of WWE’s Monday Night Raw changed dramatically after Roman Reigns vacated the Universal Championship. It makes sense that the loss of one of the company’s biggest stars for the foreseeable future would result in big changes to certain storylines, and a new backstage report gives us some specifics of how that happened.
We know a Dean Ambrose heel turn against the Shield was in the works for a while, but WrestleVotes reports that his initial attack on Seth Rollins was originally meant to have championship picture consequences that didn’t end up playing out. It turns out Ambrose’s attack was supposed to cause Rollins to lose the Intercontinental Championship. Rollins was supposed to lose the title to Elias in what would have been the former Drifter’s first championship win in WWE.
Interesting tidbit for those who like this type of thing: prior to all of RAWs creative plans going up in flames last month, the original Ambrose heel turn angle was to see him cost Rollins the IC title. Who was scheduled to win the strap you ask? Elias.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) November 29, 2018
This brings up some questions about the scrapped plans for several major Raw wrestlers. Was the Rollins vs. Ambrose feud, currently set to climax in an IC title match at TLC, originally meant to involve a championship at all? Could the original plan have involved all three members of the Shield in the Universal Championship picture after Crown Jewel if Reigns retained, or all three in a belt-less, personal feud if he lost the red belt?
Additionally, it’ll be interesting to see what ends up happening with Elias. He got that scripted, possible-future-Universal-Champion endorsement from Mick Foley back in September, has had memorable segments with Ric Flair and Trish Stratus and Sonics fans over the past few months, and recently turned babyface. It seems like WWE recognizes Elias’s popularity and value, and a breakthrough development for him must be in the cards. We’ll have to wait [with Elias?] and see when and how it will happen.
