WWE Rumours: Vince McMahon reportedly involved in picking Elias' replacement for King of the Ring
The previously scheduled King of the Ring semifinal match between Chad Gable and Elias didn't take place on tonight's WWE SmackDown Live, due to Elias suffering an injury.
Tonight's show saw Shane McMahon replacing Elias, and going on to lose to Gable, who will now face Baron Corbin in the King of the Ring final. Reportedly, the decision to replace Elias with Shane was made by Vince McMahon.
Elias vs Gable gets canceled
The King of the Ring tournament made its comeback a few weeks ago, with 16 Superstars from both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live battling it out in an Elimination setup.
On the blue brand, Elias had previously defeated Ali to advance further, while Gable had scored a victory over Andrade. Tonight, the two men were going to face off to determine who would be facing Baron Corbin in the final of the King of the Ring tournament. Corbin had won a Triple Threat Match against Samoa Joe and Ricochet to bag a spot in the final.
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Due to Elias getting injured, he was pulled out of the tournament and Gable assumed that he would be advancing to the final, getting a bye. This situation was turned into an angle, with Shane McMahon making fun of Gable's height and eventually announcing that he would be Elias' replacement against Gable. Despite Shane's dastardly heelish tactics, Gable managed to submit Shane, with the special guest referee Kevin Owens calling the match.
Original plans to determine Elias' replacement
Apparently, Vince McMahon was the one who decided to put in Shane as a replacement for Elias. Originally, WWE was planning to have a battle royal to determine Elias' replacement, but it was scrapped in favor of Shane getting inserted into the match directly.
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