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SummerSlam is less than two weeks away and it looks set to be an exciting show. Some matches are officially announced, while others have been teased for the event. There is also the intrigue of RETRIBUTION and what that faction may do that is likely in store for the Biggest Party of the Summer. WWE has been looking to hold the show away from the Performance Center, for it to feel a little fresher.
The card will be headlined by a monumental WWE Championship match between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton, two of the biggest full-time stars at WWE's disposal right now. However, initial plans saw both McIntyre and Orton have different opponents for SummerSlam.
McIntyre was set to defend the WWE Title against Brock Lesnar at the show, while Orton and Edge were going to end their storied rivalry as well. However, various factors caused the plans to be altered and now, SummerSlam looks quite different from what was initially intended.
This has happened before. There have been multiple instances where big matches have been discussed for SummerSlam, only for them not to materialize. Whether it was a pitch from a Superstar, an ambitious star-making project, or a bizarre celebrity angle, WWE nearly made some bold booking decisions for past SummerSlams.
Here are seven major SummerSlam matches that nearly took place but ultimately did not.
#7 Daniel Bryan vs. Charlie Sheen (WWE SummerSlam 2012)
The first of two celebrities on this list, Charlie Sheen nearly went one-on-one with Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam 2012. The former star of Two and a Half Men'appeared on the 1000th episode of Monday Night RAW via Tout and taunted Bryan, following his failed wedding with AJ Lee.
However, WWE did not tie Sheen down to a contract for the event and the actor's pay demands for the match with Bryan proved to be a bit too much for the company. So with Charlie Sheen taken out of the storyline, the five-time WWE World Champion ended up facing Kane at SummerSlam.
Bryan's big celebrity angle may have been nixed, but ended up being a true blessing in disguise for him. He would eventually team with Kane to form Team Hell No, which in turn led to much bigger and better things for him.
Daniel Bryan headlined the following year's SummerSlam, winning the WWE Championship from John Cena before losing it to Randy Orton straight away. It is safe to say that Bryan was better off without having that match against Charlie Sheen.
#6 Batista vs. Muhammad Hassan (WWE SummerSlam 2005)
Muhammad Hassan was put into a prominent position in WWE quickly after his debut in 2004. He portrayed an Arab-American and spoke about the prejudice shown towards Arabs in the early 2000s, quickly becoming a top villain on SmackDown. And if it wasn't for massive editing failure on WWE's part, he would have become the World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam 2005.
Hassan entered into a feud with The Undertaker, a feud he was earmarked to win en route to challenging Batista for the world title at SummerSlam. However, plans were drastically changed following an ill-advised segment on SmackDown, featuring five masked men attacking the Undertaker.
Unfortunately for Hassan, the show aired on the same day as the London bombings and WWE did not edit the segment off the broadcast. The company was then pressured to remove the Muhammad Hassan character from TV, which they did via a beatdown from the Deadman at the Great American Bash.
The real-life Marc Copani, who portrayed Hassan, confirmed that he had heard of plans for a World Title win during a question and answer session as part of Sportskeeda's UnSKripted series. Batista ended up facing JBL at SummerSlam, in a rematch from the previous pay-per-view.
#5 Mick Foley vs. Dean Ambrose (WWE SummerSlam 2012)
Dean Ambrose made his WWE debut at Survivor Series 2012 alongside Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, as The Shield. However, it could have been different for him. The current AEW World Champion nearly began his WWE run with a dream match at SummerSlam instead.
During WrestleMania weekend in 2012, Ambrose had a heated confrontation with Mick Foley, saying that the "Hardcore Legend" needed to be held accountable for causing an entire generation of wrestlers to put their bodies through misery and take insane bumps. The then-FCW star continued to antagonize Foley through Twitter.
This heat was intended to lead to a Hardcore Match between Foley and Ambrose at SummerSlam 2012, with the latter going over. However, the WWE Hall of Famer was medically disqualified to wrestle by his neurologist. And just like that, the SummerSlam match was canceled, as was Dean Ambrose's WWE call-up for the time being.
As bold as this angle sounds, the match between Foley and Ambrose being nixed was probably for the better. The Shield will forever be remembered as one of the greatest WWE factions of all time.
#4 Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho (WWE SummerSlam 2018)
Despite appearing in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Chris Jericho was still a part of WWE in 2018. He made a couple of appearances for the company, including as the 50th entrant in the Greatest Royal Rumble Match. Following his IWGP Intercontinental Championship victory over Tetsuya Naito in June, Jericho had an ambitious pitch lined up for SummerSlam.
He called Vince McMahon with the idea of having a cross-promotional Intercontinental Champion vs. Champion match at SummerSlam, between himself and Seth Rollins. This would have been a monumental occurring, even if it would have ended in a disqualification.
However, despite initially garnering a little interest, Jericho never heard back from WWE. This unique storyline would have created an immense amount of buzz among WWE fans, similar to the reaction to Jericho's emergence in New Japan. Rollins ended up losing his Intercontinental Title to Dolph Ziggler, eventually winning it back in the opening match of SummerSlam.
Chris Jericho has not returned to WWE since, wrestling a few more matches with New Japan and eventually signing with All Elite Wrestling, where he has continued the tremendous evolution of his character. Take a look at his incredible career so far.
#3 The Shield vs. Brothers of Destruction (WWE SummerSlam 2013)
Right after WrestleMania 29, The Undertaker entered a rare non-'Mania rivalry against The Shield, which was set to culminate at SummerSlam. He was joined by his brother, Kane, and Daniel Bryan. Team Hell No had saved the Deadman from getting a beatdown from the Hounds of Justice, setting the stage for a six-man tag team match.
The two teams went to battle on the April 22nd episode of RAW, emanating from the United Kingdom. The Shield emerged victorious over Undertaker and Team Hell No, but 'Taker did get some retribution on the following episode of SmackDown.
The WWE legend defeated Dean Ambrose but was promptly decimated by him, Rollins, and Reigns afterward. The Shield gave Undertaker a hellacious triple powerbomb through the announce table, sidelining him for a while. The plan was for the Deadman to return in time for SummerSlam to team with Kane against The Shield, possibly in a handicap match.
However, Undertaker did not recuperate in time and as a result, this stone was left unturned. The Shield would have likely suffered their first clean loss to the Brothers of Destruction at SummerSlam, but ended up being off the card entirely. This was just one of the multiple Undertaker dream matches that never ended up happening.
#2 Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE SummerSlam 2014)
WrestleMania 30 is one of the most memorable events in WWE history, thanks in particular to two unforgettable moments. Daniel Bryan conquered the world and won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the show, but not before Brock Lesnar stunned everybody by defeating The Undertaker and ending his WrestleMania winning streak. The two of them were set for a collision course at SummerSlam.
The plan was for Bryan to enjoy a few months as WWE Champion, before losing his title to Lesnar in the main event of SummerSlam. The world's toughest vegan successfully defended the WWE Title against Kane at Extreme Rules but was forced to relinquish the belt after suffering a neck injury.
This led to John Cena taking Bryan's place and winning the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank. He would eventually get absolutely clobbered by Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, in what was one of the most brutal and one-sided World Title matches in history.
Daniel Bryan, like Cena, would have likely gotten squashed by the Beast at SummerSlam. It's probably for the best that it did not happen, considering his neck issues at the time. Bryan did get to face Lesnar four years later, with the two sharing an absolute classic at Survivor Series.
#1 John Cena, The Big Show and Justin Bieber vs. The Wyatt Family (WWE SummerSlam 2014)
Had Daniel Bryan not gotten injured in 2014 and faced Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, WWE would have had to come up with a plan for John Cena heading into the Biggest Party of the Summer. One of the ideas for him surrounded the Wyatt Family, the Big Show and — wait — Justin Bieber?
According to former WWE writer Kevin Eck, the pop star wanted to get in the ring and wrestle at SummerSlam. An idea floated around of Bieber teaming with Cena and Big Show to take on Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan in a six-man tag team match at the event.
However, the proposed match was duly scrapped once WWE could not work a deal out with the singer. The company had dodged a genuine bullet there, as Justin Bieber taking down the Wyatt Family would have instantly killed the stable's momentum. Even seeing Cena and Big Show beat the Wyatts at SummerSlam would have severely compromised their momentum.
Even the thought of this idea is infuriating. It would have been much worse than the previously mentioned plans for Charlie Sheen. Luckily for everybody involved, it did not materialize. Bieber would have likely been booed out of the building in Los Angeles and become, despite being on the babyface team.
Bray Wyatt and John Cena ended up having more conventional matches at SummerSlam 2014, against Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar, respectively.
