5 WWE Superstars who were removed from big matches (and the reasons why)

#2 Braun Strowman (vs. Brock Lesnar, WWE Royal Rumble 2019)

Braun Strowman failed to win the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar in four WWE pay-per-view matches between August 2017 and November 2018.

In January 2019, it looked as though “The Monster Among Men” could finally get his big moment against “The Beast” after it was confirmed that the two men would meet once again at the Royal Rumble.

That was the plan, at least, until Strowman’s monstrous character pulled the door off Vince McMahon’s limousine, prompting the WWE Chairman to remove him from the match. Instead, Finn Balor went on to face – and lose against – Lesnar at the event in a Universal Championship match.

It was widely reported at the time that, in reality, McMahon chose to replace Strowman with Balor because he did not want the former Wyatt Family member to lose yet another match against Lesnar.

Strowman later confirmed in an out-of-character interview on NotSam Wrestling that he “had enough” with his position in WWE around the time of the 2019 Royal Rumble, leading to a lengthy “heart-to-heart, man-to-man conversation” with McMahon before an episode of RAW.