5 storylines you won't believe WWE ended up scrapping

It's no secret that not every single thing The WWE creative team comes up with gets put on television. But, what kind of storylines end up getting scrapped by the company, and why? Furthermore, what storylines were they high on at one point during the planning stages, but ultimately gave up on due to any number of issues?

With that being said and WWE having to make the tough decision between airing a storyline or scrapping it, here are five that they ended up throwing into the trash for various reasons. As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to tell us what storylines you wish the company wouldn't have scrapped.

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#5. Kofi Kingston being the weak link of The New Day

What if Kofi Kingston was the weak link in The New Day?

It's no secret that Kofi Kingston losing The WWE Title to Brock Lesnar in a matter of seconds was devastating to watch, but what if what happened next was even worse?

Believe it or not, that almost ended up happening, as rumor had it that WWE was planning for Kingston to become the weak link in The New Day.

While it's never explicitly explained what that would mean, it was reported that Kingston would go on a lengthy losing streak that would lead him to doubt himself. Big E. Langston and Xavier Woods would then find success as a pair, which would only drive Kingston further into his anger.

With that being said, Wood's injury late last year put a stop to this storyline and WWE was ultimately forced to go in another direction. Whether the company will revisit the storyline once Woods is back remains to be seen, but it would be interesting to see how they script a New Day break up.

#4 AJ Styles versus Randy Orton

AJ Styles versus Randy Orton would have been legendary!

Randy Orton versus AJ Styles was teased several times by WWE throughout the winter months of 2019, but fans never got a satisfying conclusion to what would probably be a mega feud. Beyond that, it could have been something that resulted in some great matches and increased fan interest in the product.

Those plans were scrapped however after Styles suffered a shoulder separation during The 2020 Royal Rumble match and was unable to take part in the storyline. It is believed that the feud would have culminated at that year's Super Showdown or Elimination pay per view and was supposedly a way for WWE to buy time until Edge versus Orton was supposed to take place.

In the end, it's not the biggest loss in the world, especially given the other storylines WWE were forced to scrap, but it was something that was built up to for so long, only to see it dropped. That means fans got invested in the storyline over the weeks that it was teased and wanted to finally see these two lock up in a marque matchup.

#3. Finn Balor to Friday Night Smackdown

What would Finn Balor have achieved over on Friday Night SmackDown?

Finn Balor shocked The WWE Universe last year by returning to NXT as a heel for the first time in his WWE career and it was treated as a big deal. Not only due to the fact that Balor was finally coming back to his old stomping grounds for another run, but also due to how much it would help ratings in the long run.

While Balor going back to The black and gold brand seemed like the right decision, especially after his lopsided loss to The Fiend at Summerslam, that apparently wasn't always the plan. Interestingly enough, The WWE originally had Balor set to go to Friday Night SmackDown after his hiatus, but changed their mind for... some reason.

If nothing else, WWE probably made the right move by bringing Balor to NXT, but it would have been interesting to see what he could have done over on SmackDown. It might have even gotten him back into the Universal Title picture and finally allow him to recapture his gold.

#2. AJ Styles putting over budding talent

You won't believe what WWE had planned for AJ Styles over on Raw.

AJ Styles was moved to Friday Night SmackDown earlier this year and while the move is a big plus for WWE as a whole, it was a huge loss for Monday Night Raw. In fact, between challenging The Undertaker at WrestleMania 36 and absolutely destroying it as United States Champion before, it's safe to say he was arguably the cornerstone of WWE.

With that being said, it is now being reported that the original plan for The Phenomenal One was for him to stay on Monday Night Raw and help put over several midcard talents on the brand. Interestingly enough, Ricochet, Humberto Carrillo and Cedric Alexander were all on the short list to beat him at one point and earn career defining wins.

Unfortunately for those three Superstars, a reported ratings dip over on Friday Night SmackDown forced WWE to move him back to the Blue Brand and nullify all those plans. Of course, it worked out for Styles, especially after winning the Intercontinental Title, but it would have been nice to see some younger talent be put over on Raw.

#1 Brock Lesnar versus Cain Velasquez

Brock Lesnar versus Cain Velasquez at WrestleMania 36. Who would have won?

WWE brought UFC star, Cain Velasquez, to the squared circle in order to have a feud with Brock Lesnar and although The Beast Incarnate won the first contest in a matter of minutes, there was hope for another match. In fact, with how dominating Lesnar was in his performance against Velasquez, it almost didn't make sense not to have a rematch.

Apparently the original plan was for the two to meet again at WrestleMania 36, where Velasquez would avenge his loss to Lesnar and maybe even win The WWE Title in the process. Unfortunately for Velasquez, the storyline was dropped due an injury he suffered while training and he was later released by the company.

If nothing else, this match would have netted WWE a lot of publicity, especially with these two's history in UFC and could have been something special. With that being said and Velasquez being released by the company earlier this year, it dosen't look like this dream match will ever take place.|

But, you never know with WWE.