Austin Theory earning a title shot after stealing the infamous Cleopatra’s Egg from Survivor Series was not the original plan, but the egg’s original storyline was unacceptable to teams associated with The Rock and Red Notice according to a new report.
While the in-ring action at Survivor Series was intense, the talk of the event was the grand return of Vince McMahon to WWE television and the golden Cleopatra’s Egg he brought with him. When the egg went missing in the middle of the show, McMahon was outraged, and a hunt for the egg ensued on the following night’s Monday Night Raw. McMahon promised that anyone who helped find the egg would receive a WWE Championship match against Big E.
It was revealed during Raw that Austin Theory had stolen the egg wanting to take a selfie with it, and even though Sami Zayn provided this information to Vince McMahon, Austin Theory was rewarded with the much coveted title match in the main event of the show. He would eventually come up short against Big E, succumbing to a ringside distraction and allowing Big E to hit the Big Ending for the win.
All of this served as a promotional tie-in to the Netflix original movie Red Notice, which stars former WWE Champion The Rock along with Ryan Reynolds.
According to a report from Fightful Select, WWE sources indicate the original plans for the egg storyline were “much worse with the stakes much lower” and may have included a tie-in with the 24/7 Championship scene as opposed to the WWE Championship.
Teams associated with The Rock and Red Notice weren’t happy with that and plans were changed. The addition of Vince McMahon to the story was reportedly done as a make good to add prestige and notoriety to the lucrative promotional deal, which is said to be in the seven figures.
Wrestling is no stranger to movie tie-ins, and Inside the Ropes recently took a look at 5 of the most bizarre movie crossovers in wrestling history.