WWE News: Original Plans For The Finish To The Intercontinental Championship Match At ‘WrestleMania 32’

While WrestleMania may have been lackluster to many, one thing is clear: most people were happy with the WWE Intercontinental Championship match. As usual, the ladder match at WrestleMania was a car crash filled with guys who went over the top to excite the crowd. Most people believed that Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens would win the match simply because the two of them have a rivalry that WWE will clearly want to build on.

It makes sense for the IC Title to be involved, too. So either man could win and they would end up facing the other man for it. However, WWE decided to shock everyone and have Zack Ryder win it. It was a fantastic moment for Ryder, who has spent around ten years in WWE, working his tail off. He finally got onto WrestleMania for a title match, which he wasn’t even supposed to be part of. Neville was set to have Ryder’s spot in the match.

Sadly, gravity finally remembered Neville, and he ended up getting hurt. That meant WWE had to add someone and, with all the injuries going on, Zack Ryder was the best choice for the spot. Then, he ends up winning? It was great to see, but interestingly enough, it was not the original plan. As usual, Vince McMahon goes back and forth on both the card for the event and who will win each match.

Sometimes Vince changes his mind on the winner for a match the day of the show. In case of WrestleMania 31, he changed the WWE World Title match up and had Seth Rollins cash in Money in the Bank just under an hour before the match was going to happen. In case of this year, the Wrestling Observer reports that the original plan for the IC Title match was to have Kevin Owens retain his title.

The decision was changed up to Zack Ryder, which gave him his first IC Championship and his first WrestleMania win. The radio must have told him enough to get past the other competitors.

A lot is being made of this for Ryder, as well. Does this mean WWE is finally pushing the veteran to see what he can do when given the opportunity? Everyone knows how talented he is, and we all know he was just screwed over a number of years ago when he barely held the WWE United States Title and was thrown into a top story with John Cena, only to be pushed out of it, hard. He then had a run in with Kane that saw no retaliation from Ryder really.

WWE literally buried Zack Ryder for no reason. Fans loved him and he got himself over when no one in WWE gave him a chance to do it. He finally was able to show people he was ready and WWE pushed him right back down, basically as a “screw you” to fans or people who get over without WWE help. Now with fans wanting to see more from their favorite people, it makes sense for WWE to give Ryder a shot to prove he belongs among the best.

It is uncertain where WWE goes with Ryder after this, but he very well could face Kevin Owens in a rematch for the championship. Owens is entitled to it. If Ryder does retain then, it is really a toss up for who will face him. There are already a great deal of rumors regarding who could face the broski, but as of now, there is nothing concrete. Zack Ryder got into the match by random chance and won by a change in booking. Sometimes dreams do come true.

[Image via WWE]