As many wrestling fans know by now, Big E. cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Monday Night RAW against then WWE Champion Bobby Lashley to capture the title for the first time in his career.
According to Fightful, the decision had been made very early on after Big E. won the MITB briefcase that he was going to cash it in and win the WWE Championship. Those plans were further escalated after the planned WWE Championship match between Bobby Lashley and Randy Orton was bumped up from Extreme Rules to Monday Night RAW as of last Saturday (September 11th).
Also, most of the RAW roster stuck around to watch the match, which is different than the typical situation where many members of the roster leave before the show goes off the air. The reaction backstage was “seemingly universal elation” for Big E.