According to Ringside News , WWE management’s decision to have The Miz defeat Otis to become the new Money in the Bank briefcase holder at Hell In a Cell was reportedly made to create shock value.
A tenured member of the company’s creative team told the outlet that “it’s really as stupid and insane and impatient and impetuous as that.” Vince McMahon wanted to create a buzzworthy moment for the night, and he felt taking the prize away from the popular babyface would accomplish that.
As The Inquisitr recently documented, officials had been toying with the idea of taking the briefcase off Otis for weeks before they pulled the trigger. McMahon is supposedly a huge fan of the underdog babyface, but he might not be viewed as main event material yet.
Otis shocked the fans when he won the prize at this year’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view. While he’s arguably one of the most popular babyfaces on the roster, it’s rare for officials to strap the rocket to comedic gimmicks.
The Ringside News article noted that the reason why Otis won the briefcase in the first place was that officials wanted to “change things up.” His entire storyline has supposedly been booked on the fly since then, suggesting that the creative team never had a long-term vision for him.
Earlier this year, McMahon promised to focus on building new stars moving forward. However, the decision to have The Miz defeat Otis suggests otherwise, given that he is one of the most seasoned performers on the current roster.
Otis lost his number one contender prize after Tucker, his cohort in Heavy Machinery, turned on him at the event. He cited Otis hogging the spotlight in recent months as the reason for his betrayal.
In a separate report from Ringside News , it was revealed that WWE management made the decision to split up the team just one week before Hell In a Cell . They are the latest onscreen faction to be broken up, though that was also the case when they were sent to different brands during the latest draft.
It’s believed that the pair will come to blows at next month’s Survivor Series pay-per-view as it’s a cross-brand event. With Otis focused on Tucker, however, it remains to be seen if he’ll win back his guaranteed title shot at a later date.
The Miz has already teased cashing in on Randy Orton, who defeated Drew McIntyre to win the WWE Championship at Hell In a Cell .
