Ahead of Monday's RAW, WWE was advertising a "No Holds Barred" match between Randy Orton and Matt Hardy. During the previous week's show, The Viper brutally attacked the veteran wrestler in brutal fashion, so it certainly made sense for such a bout to take place.
Well, it didn't, and Fightful is now reporting that the original plan was for the match to take place across multiple segments. However, Vince McMahon made the call to scrap the match just hours before the show and decided to have Orton attack Hardy again.
There have been rumblings elsewhere online that WWE was worried a match between the two would essentially invalidate what happened the week before and make Orton's attack on Edge seem less impactful. Hardy wasn't supposed to return at all this past Monday, but plans changed when McMahon saw the quarter hour ratings and decided to bring him back for another beatdown.
As of right now, the signs are pointing to Hardy leaving WWE, but we'll have more on that for you a little later today!