This was not something long planned out. Punk vs. John Cena was scheduled to headline the show. However, the damage to Cena's right elbow was more extensive then expected, and required a more invasive surgery then was originally expected. Cena's arm was still in bad shape on 10/8, really unable to be used at all or to be moved. It was clear that three weeks could be pushing it. The show ended with Vince McMahon announcing that Punk would get to choose his opponent, but that it would be Cena or Ryback.
The plan was for it to still be Cena, but Ryback was put in a promoted back-up position because they recognized Cena was far from 100% certain to be ready. The decision was to be made in the afternoon of 10/15, based on Cena getting an examination that day. Cena's right arm had improved significantly over the prior seven days, but the doctors could not assure WWE officials that Cena would be ready by 10/28. The feeling was that they needed two weeks of promotion for the main event, and because they couldn't get anything more than he's iffy to be ready by that date, the decision was made to go with Ryback.
Over the weekend, two different scripts were written for Raw, one building things up to end with Cena getting the shot and the other with Ryback. I don't know the full details but it's not just the closing angle. There were differences in the sense Ryback beating David Otunga & Dolph Ziggler in a squash made no sense if he wasn't getting the shot. From watching the show, if it was Cena, the idea would probably be to focus strongly on Cena and not put fans in a position to go crazy about Ryback as the new thing and then have it not be him. If it's Ryback, the idea was to build Ryback strong, but keep Cena in the game until the end of the show because there are still no examples of Ryback's arena popularity translating to ratings, while nearly every week there are examples of that for Cena. As it turned out, even after the call was made for Ryback that afternoon, they ended up completely changing the Ryback show script.
To get them ready, Ryback will be working every house show between now and the PPV with Punk in the main event to have them get a match together. They are likely not to be booked in a long match, although if the feeling is that they can handle a long match, that could happen.
What becomes tricky is not so much the match. They should be able to have at least a decent match, because it will be carefully laid out and Punk can carry a main event. But the issue becomes the finish. Ryback's entire gimmick and reason for being over is his quick squash match wins, patterned after people like Magnum T.A., Nikita Koloff, Goldberg and the Ultimate Warrior from the 80s. Eventually he has to lose, but the idea should have been that he start facing and beating bigger and bigger names until he finally faced the top guy. He's clearly building momentum and hasn't topped out, so it's way too early for him to lose. But with the unique situation of Randy Orton off Mondays due to filming a "12 Rounds" remake, Big Show programmed with Sheamus in the world title picture and Kane occupied in a different angle, there was no backup player who could have replaced Cena.
This is where the WWE concept of a gimmick match on a certain day even if the programs aren't ready for it has backfired. In some cases, like an annual Elimination Chamber because in February there will always be a Mania main event shot not decided by the Rumble, that makes sense. A July Money in the Bank makes sense. But the annual planned out months in advance when booking is changed weekly for a Hell in a Cell has, and figures completely back this up, just destroyed the entire PPV value of a match that used to add tons of buys and now means very little.
If this was any kind of a match but Hell in a Cell, there would be no booking issues. You could do a cheap finish, and it would suck in a sense. But after the cheap finish Ryback can still lay Punk out with the Samoan drop through a table or something for a closing pop. Even in a cage match, you can have him blast Punk and Punk falls out the door or even a stunt spot where he knocks the entire side of the cage down and Punk hits the floor first. But Hell in a Cell is supposed to have no DQ, and can only end via pin or submission. For long-term booking, Punk has to be champion in January since he's at this point scheduled against Rock and that's expected to be a huge show. But this is not the time to beat Ryback.
You can have Ryback win the title and then Punk win it back with a fluky ending at Survivor Series or with a screwy table break finish in a tables match at TLC, but I wonder if losing the title will take an edge off Ryback at this point. You can also do a multiple person match at Survivor Series where Punk pins someone else, Ryback doesn't get pinned or submit, and you get the title where you need it. But you still have him as the guy who failed to defend.
It's just a weird sense of the Cena injury, the Orton movie, no other babyfaces over, a face with an undefeated streak, actual long-term money plans where Punk needs to be champion and it being Hell in a Cell month that puts them in a position where they have to be really creative on the finish, or on the booking of that show and the next finish.
coming back for his clean W and the UFC title 
