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Fortunately or not, WWE has let go of many creative plans over the years.
With dirt sheets and rumors on the internet revealing several such plans prior, during and after the event, followers of the sport have come to know about several creative pitches that sounded promising and could have been possible show-stealers.
Despite this, due to external factors, or simply denial from senior officials, matches and storylines that the WWE Universe would have loved to see were denied.
On this list, we look at five such interesting creative plans that were surprisingly scrapped by WWE.
#5. Drew McIntyre and The Phenom's one-on-one encounter
Both men had singles matches on SmackDown in the buildup to WrestleMania 26, but the original plan, according to McIntyre himself, was for the two to have a match at The Show of Shows.
The Scottish Warrior was on a strong roll as the reigning Intercontinental Champion at the time, defeating Kane at the Elimination Chamber PLE. However, the match was axed and Taker retired Shawn Michaels in the main event of WrestleMania instead.
Fast forward to 2019, the new and improved McIntyre got to tag alongside Shane McMahon in a match against The Deadman and Roman Reigns. Whilst there was talk online of the two men having a singles match at Summerslam that year, there was no basis for those rumors.
#4. A dream match that wasn't meant to be
The comparisons between the two wrestlers have been made over the years by several of their peers and the WWE Universe.
AJ Styles is one of the best in the business today, and Shawn Michaels is widely accepted as the GOAT.
A match between the two was rumored to take place in early 2017, during the WrestleMania season. A fan-made poster of their potential showdown went viral at the time. Despite this, plans were dropped after the Heartbreak Kid called it off.
“I asked Shawn [about a match] and he said ‘No.’ Well, That’s on Shawn, guys. I can’t do anything about that. I would love the opportunity to do that match, but I get where he’s coming from too."
Styles spoke to Cathy Kelley in an interview for WWE.
"It’s one of those things where, if you say you’re gonna retire — Now, granted, he had a match after his retirement, one match — but I understand not really wanting to do it. When I retire, I want to [stay] retired too.”
Later, both Styles and Michaels together discussed their rumored match on Table for 3 on the WWE Network.
The WWE Hall of Famer was last seen coming out of retirement for a tag team match at Crown Jewel in 2018 that wasn't well-received. Once again, during this time, as per talkSPORTS, rumors sparked of a match between the two at WrestleMania in 2019.
#3. A WrestleMania main event, followed by a blockbuster match against Brock Lesnar for Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho was initially scheduled to dethrone then Universal Champion Kevin Owens at WrestleMania in 2017, and subsequently drop the belt to Brock Lesnar at the next PLE, WWE Payback.
Instead, Lesnar suggested a long-term storyline with Bill Goldberg, losing to the latter at Survivor Series in 2016 in a short match, leading to another showdown at The Show of Shows. This was evidently approved by Vince McMahon, who had Owens lose to Goldberg at WWE Fastlane and booked the two aforementioned behemoths to collide for the world title.
Many years later, Jericho remarked on this dream match that "never happened" and that it would still "be a draw."
“The idea was for Kevin [Owens] to continue to have the title until WrestleMania and Jericho versus Owens in one of the main events of WrestleMania, and that I would win the title for the first time as a babyface ever."
Jericho spoke on Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions.
"I already told them I was leaving the next month, and the next month Brock would come in, and you versus Brock. Jericho versus Brock would be a draw, which I still think it would be, and Brock would beat you. Done. Brock wins the title, Jericho fades off onto the Fozzy tour, life goes on.”
Both men are still active performers in 2022, albeit signed with different companies.
Would you like to see a match between the two at some point down the line? Sound off in the comments section below.
#2. The Undertaker's WrestleMania opponent in 2011
At WWE Bragging Rights in 2010, The Nexus interrupted the Buried Alive match between The Undertaker and Kane in favor of the latter, who went on to win the match. The Deadman would disappear from television afterwards.
The plans were for the leader of the faction, Wade Barrett, to face The Phenom at WrestleMania 27. The latter apparently handpicked his opponent and was keen on retiring at the time.
Another contender who was rumored to be challenging for the streak at the time was WCW Legend Sting, who had not yet worked for WWE. He later confirmed to the Daily Star that officials from the company had offered him a match and a WWE Hall of Fame induction.
"It's a dream match that fans would want to see. It was close. I'm glad things turned out the way they did."
Sting continued about declining the offer.
"There are so many variables. Let's just say that I turned it down for the same reasons I always have. Something in me never trusted what would happen up there, based entirely on the track record with other WCW guys and everything that went on after Vince bought WCW."
Ultimately, at WrestleMania 27, we got to witness Triple H vs. The Undertaker in a solid, hard-hitting and remarkable No Holds Barred match.
Sting vs. The Undertaker is yet another "never happened" dream match today. When he finally debuted in 2014, the possibility for the match to take place was stronger than ever. However, WWE went ahead with Sting vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 31 instead. As per a report by Atletifo Pro Wrestling, in an interview with Starrcast after many years, he acknowledged the same.
“I wanted that to happen. I was very clear publicly, and I was very clear with WWE, as well. I wanted my last hurrah against Taker. For whatever reason, it just never materialized. To this day, I don’t know why. Maybe Taker never wanted to work with me. I have no idea."
When asked in an interview with Comic Book about the nixed match against Sting, Taker stated the reason had more to do with his doubts on whether the match could deliver on people's expectations owing to his health.
#1. The Rock returning to WWE for a match after 2013's WrestleMania main event against John Cena
After "passing the torch" to John Cena at WrestleMania 29, in a rather underwhelming main event, The Rock was continuously teased for several matches at The Show of Shows over the next few years.
In 2014, confirmed by Dwayne Johnson himself, there was talk of booking a sequel to the Summerslam 2002 main event at WrestleMania 30.
Later that year, on the October 14 edition of WWE SmackDown, Triple H and The Rock had a backstage segment that teased an eventual showdown, supposedly at 'Mania 31, but that didn't materialize. At The Show of Shows in 2015, however, the two men met in the ring in a promo segment also involving Stephanie McMahon and Ronda Rousey, potentially teasing a mixed tag match at a future date.
At 'Mania 34, Rousey made her in-ring debut in the said mixed tag match, with Kurt Angle replacing The Rock.
As we head towards 2023, rumors are at their peak on The Great One finally returning to WWE and challenging Roman Reigns to a title match at the SoFi Stadium in April.
