According to Fightful Select, there was said to be some last-minute changes made to the scripts and booking for both the live and taped episodes of Friday Night SmackDown.
The report indicates the main event segment on Friday night’s episode in which Roman Reigns ended up firing Paul Heyman, and brawling with Brock Lesnar was not what was originally planned for the end of the show. It was said the tag team match of The Usos vs. The New Day was supposed to main event for night, which was booked just before the main event segment.
As of Friday afternoon, the promo from Reigns was scheduled to open the show. A sit-down interview with Brock Lesnar was supposed to follow later in the night but never ended up happening.
The opening match for the show with Shotzi and Charlotte Flair vs. Toni Storm and Sasha Banks was reportedly supposed to be the main event for next week’s taped Christmas Eve show. The match ended up starting this past Friday night’s show, with Toni Storm getting the biggest victory of her WWE career pinning Charlotte Flair.