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What's the story?
This past week's Extreme Rules had a lot of action in the ring as well as backstage, as Hulk Hogan returned to the WWE and was backstage, reportedly for a WWE Network special.
But, it seems like Vince McMahon, WWE's Chairman, wasn't backstage, or wasn't directing proceedings at the Extreme Rules PPV according to Wrestling Observer.
In case you didn't know...
Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins headlined Extreme Rules in a 30-minute Iron Man match, which Ziggler won 5-4 and retained the Intercontinental Championship belt.
Earlier in the night, Bobby Lashley defeated Roman Reigns, and Kevin Owens won his match inside a steel cage against Braun Strowman, after he was thrown out of the steel cage and sustained injuries.
Shinsuke Nakamura won his first title on the main roster when he defeated Jeff Hardy for the US title, while Carmella, Alexa Bliss and AJ Styles retained their titles.
The heart of the matter
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Vince McMahon was not in the gorilla position at the PPV, and the show was run by Triple H and Billy Kidman.
The report also states that the WWE Chairman had no say in how the show was run as he had no communication channels with Triple H or Kidman.
Since returning to the WWE in 2007, Kidman first trained budding wrestlers and then was a backstage figure and has served as a producer. Triple H, meanwhile, has been in the gorilla position beside Vince McMahon for a few years, but now seems to be getting a bigger say in what happens in the ring.
What's next?
WWE's next PPV is SummerSlam, which will be held at the Barclays Center in New York, and will finally see the return of Brock Lesnar!
Did you think Extreme Rules was a good show? Sound off in the comments below.
