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With WWE WrestleMania 34 almost upon us, we are taking a look at five things you might not know about recent ‘Mania events.
In this article, we focus on WrestleMania 32 – a show best-remembered for Shane McMahon’s in-ring return against The Undertaker and Roman Reigns’ WWE Championship victory against Triple H.
The event also saw Baron Corbin win the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, while Charlotte Flair won the Women’s Championship in a Triple Threat match against Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks.
#5 AJ Styles was originally due to face Ryback
It was revealed during an episode of the Conversation With The Big Guy podcast in 2016 that Ryback was originally scheduled to face AJ Styles at WrestleMania 32.
The former Intercontinental champion explained how he had been told by Vince McMahon that he would be facing the WWE newcomer at that year’s Mania, with Vince even saying he wanted Ryback to “squash that little twerp”.
However, as ever in WWE, plans can change at a moment’s notice, and that’s exactly what happened with WrestleMania 32, where Styles ending up facing Chris Jericho and Ryback fought Kalisto in a United States title match on the kickoff show.
#4 Brock Lesnar didn’t listen to Dean Ambrose’s ideas for their match
Even the biggest fans of Brock Lesnar and/or Dean Ambrose would admit that the WrestleMania 32 match between the two men failed to live up to expectations.
The No Holds Barred Street Fight lasted just over 13 minutes and was largely dominated by Lesnar, who never looked for a moment as if he would lose before he defeated “The Lunatic Fringe” with an F5.
Speaking on The Stone Cold Podcast on the WWE Network, Ambrose said it was like “pulling teeth” suggesting ideas for the match and claimed he was “met with laziness” by Lesnar.
#3 It was the first WrestleMania card without John Cena for 13 years
The WrestleMania match between John Cena and The Undertaker is finally set to happen for the first time at this year’s show in New Orleans – but it could easily have happened two years earlier at WrestleMania 32 in Dallas.
However, Cena was unable to compete at the event after undergoing shoulder surgery in January 2016, which meant he was not on the ‘Mania match card for the first time since WrestleMania XIX.
He still made an appearance on the show, though, helping former rival The Rock fight off Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan after Rock defeated Rowan in a six-second match.
#2 Baron Corbin only found out he was debuting the day before
After almost four years in NXT, Baron Corbin made his WWE main-roster debut in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32.
As an unannounced participant, it’s fair to say “The Lone Wolf” wasn’t exactly among the favourites to win the match. However, he outlasted every other man, eliminating Kane at the end, to create a 'WrestleMania moment' on his debut.
Speaking to Chris Jericho on Talk Is Jericho in 2017, Corbin revealed that Triple H informed him the day before the event that he would be involved in the match.
“He never breaks typing on his cell phone to tell me this, but he's like, typing on his phone, he looks up, he goes, 'Hey, tomorrow, you're going to be in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal,” said Corbin.
#1 Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose was originally planned for the event
The previously mentioned Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar matches wouldn’t have happened if WWE followed up on their original plan to have Y2J face “The Lunatic Fringe” at WrestleMania 32.
The seeds were planted for the match at Night of Champions 2015 when Jericho teamed with Ambrose and Roman Reigns in a losing effort against the Wyatt Family. After the defeat, the nine-time Intercontinental champion shoulder-barged Ambrose and it was clear that WWE was planning a rivalry between the two men.
However, due to a series of main-roster injuries in the build-up to the show, WWE was forced to change their plans and the Jericho vs. Ambrose feud was revisited after WrestleMania 32 instead.
