Vince McMahon Not At WWE Extreme Rules, Match Order Changed, NXT Star and Ex-Diva Backstage

The action was intense from start to finish last night at WWE Extreme Rules. When the smoke cleared, The B-Team and Shinsuke Nakamura had captured championship gold, Braun Strowman had thrown Kevin Owens off a steel cage, Bobby Lashley overcame Roman Reigns in a brutal battle for respect, WWE Champion AJ Styles reigned supreme over Rusev, and Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler outlasted Seth Rollins in sudden death of a 30-Minute WWE Iron Man Match.

According to PWInsider, Vince McMahon was not backstage at Extreme Rules at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was, however, in regular communication with WWE officials who were at the show.

With McMahon absent, Triple H and Billy Kidman coordinated Extreme Rules from “Gorilla Position.”

WWE’s creative team had originally planned for the 30-Minute WWE Iron Man Match to kick off Extreme Rules, and for the last hour to feature WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Rusev, Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax, and Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley in the main event. The match order was shifted just before showtime.

According to @WrestleVotes on Twitter, there was a backstage push from some WWE higher-ups for Ziggler vs. Rollins to have the main event spot.

I don’t lie to you guys… I told you about a backstage push from some high ups to get this Ziggler / Rollins match as the main event, and surprising, it worked. https://t.co/0DgNQO1tVK

— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) July 16, 2018

The family of Connor “The Crusher” Michalek, who posthumously received the inaugural Warrior Award at the 2015 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, attended Extreme Rules.

NXT Superstar Nikki Cross was backstage at Extreme Rules, although that’s because she’s on the road with the SmackDown LIVE crew. The night before, she worked a WWE house show featuring SmackDown LIVE talent in Canton, Ohio. She teamed with Asuka, Becky Lynch, and Naomi in a win over SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella, Lana, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville.

Holy Shit! @NikkiCrossWWE is at a #SDLive live event! #wwecanton pic.twitter.com/U4OD7EhseX

— Megazed101 (@Real_Megazed101) July 15, 2018

HOLY CRAP!!!! NIKKI??? 😍#WWECanton pic.twitter.com/8sga0YfdbH

— Eric Kerhin (@ericthemovieguy) July 15, 2018

Finally, former WWE Diva Rosa Mendes was backstage at Extreme Rules. She lives in the Pittsburgh area and was just visiting friends.

• Five bikini photos of Rosa Mendes after leaving WWE