Ryback wasn’t always scheduled to be the man to the vacant Intercontinental Championship at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. In fact, Ryback ended up pinning the man — Sheamus — that was originally scheduled to win the vacant Championship . But according to the Wrestling Observer , WWE made a last-minute change and decided to have “The Big Guy” win his first ever singles title.
WWE’s plan since WrestleMania has been to boost the prestige of their secondary Championships, and it’s safe to say that they’ve done just that with the United States Championship. However, due to Daniel Bryan’s health, they weren’t able to do the same with the Intercontinental Championship. It’s unclear if they’ve given up hope on the Intercontinental Championship, but there was a belief that if WWE wanted to continue along the path of rebuilding the IC Title, they should have put it on Sheamus, who is unquestionably doing the best work of his career.
Ryback is scheduled to defend the Intercontinental Championship against the Big Show at this Sunday’s Money in the Bank show. There have been reports that WWE will end up adding The Miz to the match, making it a triple-threat. But as of right now, that hasn’t happened.
JUST ANNOUNCED: @WWETheBigShow will face @Ryback22 at #MITB this Sunday. http://t.co/q7ZY2td0HD pic.twitter.com/lJB1YfeU4f
— WWE (@WWE) June 8, 2015
There have also been reports that the Big Show may end up defeating Ryback, and winning the Intercontinental Championship, which wouldn’t exactly help rebuild the Championship, as constantly changing the title holder with any title never makes the Championship seem prestigious. If Ryback does lose to the Big Show, he’d have held the title for just two weeks.
Sometimes WWE officials will change their minds on a finish just because they want to “get one over” on the fans who think they know better, and that could very well have been the case with Ryback winning the Intercontinental Championship instead of Sheamus, as Sheamus had been advertised as the IC Champion for a future RAW before the Elimination Chamber show.
It’s very possible that if Ryback gets past the Big Show this Sunday, WWE will begin a Sheamus vs. Ryback feud for the Intercontinental Championship, unless Sheamus wins the Money in the Bank ladder match, which does seem a bit far-fetched. But you never know.
[Image via WWE ]
