It’s not uncommon nowadays for WWE to have not decided on the match order and finalized scripts hours before Raw and SmackDown. Now latest reports reveal that it was the case with WrestleMania: Backlash as well.
According to the reports from Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the original idea for the main event of the night was different. The company had not made a final call on it until 5:30 PM on the day of the show.
Per the report, the original Backlash plan was for the triple threat WWE championship match among Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, and Drew McIntyre to close the show.
However, a push was made on the day of the PPV to have Roman Reigns’ match close the event. The idea was that he was the only franchise player on the roster.
The belief was that he should either go first or last. Since the triple threat match for the Raw women’s championship opened Backlash, the decision was made to let the universal championship match close the show.
The call was helped by the feeling that since Reigns and Cesaro were going to put on a long match, it might have left the audience exhausted for the WWE title match that would have followed.