In an interesting note, the original plan for WWE TLC was for Drew McIntyre to defend the WWE Championship against Braun Strowman. However, Strowman reportedly sustained an injury, which led to AJ Styles winning a triple threat match against Keith Lee and Riddle to earn the title shot at TLC.
In a report provided by Fightful Select, the original creative plans for “virtually everyone at the top of the RAW roster” shifted following Strowman’s injury. That forced WWE officials to put the mini-tournament together to determine McIntyre’s challenger, with Styles, Lee, and Riddle all involved.
Because of the necessary changes, that reportedly forced several other RAW storylines involving the top talents to be adjusted “from anywhere between one to three weeks.”
Also, the script for Monday’s edition of RAW was sent out less than 25 minutes before the show went live on the USA Network.
