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Is WWE the place where dreams come true? Some WWE Superstars would like to think so.
In the years that professional wrestling and its status as the place of scripted sports entertainment, fans have gathered around in stadiums and at home to watch matches that defied the odds.
Dream matches like The Rock vs. John Cena happens once (or twice) in a lifetime
Over the years, dream matches come once in a while, whether that would be The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels vs. Hulk Hogan, or Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg. There have been countless times where the impossible became possible.
At all times, sometimes ideas get lost in the shuffle, and those possible dream matches never come to fruition. Some of these matches include some fan favorites that were discussed behind the scenes but just never happened.
So, here are some fantastic dream matches that were pitched but never happened.
#9 Bret Hart vs Kurt Angle - WrestleMania 20
Bret 'The Hitman' Hart was one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time. While not the most entertaining on the mic, he truly lived the gimmick as a clear-cut champion who came to wrestle. Bret Hart let his work speak for itself in the ring and rarely gave a lousy match.
Stone Cold Steve Austin got over because of Bret Hart in the now-famous WrestleMania 13 match, with Ken Shamrock as the referee. He gave Austin one of the best matches of his career, and he indeed was the excellence of execution.
Much like Hart, Kurt Angle's in-ring ability outmatched some of the others on the roster. His amateur wrestling background allowed him to put on matches that proved to be exhilarating and entertaining. But, fans clamored for a Hart vs. Angle match as they never crossed paths due to Hart departing for WCW.
In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Angle revealed that he approached Bret Hart about a possible dream match, but Hart declined. He said:
"So, I understood why Bret didn't want to do it. Because he had the stroke and he had a lot of bad luck, you know, some things happened that made it medically difficult for him to come back and be at his very best. I told him, you know, listen, you didn't even have to bump at all. I'll do all the bumping and he was like, 'Nah, it won't be the Bret Hart match that I want to be and I can't do that."
It would be interesting to think these two WWE Legends almost met for a match at WrestleMania. How impressive would that have been in the long run?
#8 Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns - WrestleMania 36
Interestingly, only a few months ago, WrestleMania 36 happened, and some great matches occurred on those two faithful days. Moreover, before Braun Strowman swooped in and took the WWE Universal Championship from Goldberg, it was supposed to be Roman Reigns.
Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg wrote itself. In this era of WWE, dream matches are something everyone wanted, and this almost happened. If not for the pandemic, the match would mark the only time when one of the leading faces of the current era faced a bonafide WCW and WWE Legend.
Goldberg wanted the match to happen, but the reason it didn't happen was because Roman Reigns has a compromised immune system, and it would put him at risk. He said:
"I don't even know where to begin. Roman Reigns, everybody knows he has leukemia. You know, he's in remission and his — obviously his immune system is down. And so, I don't know why it was even considered in the beginning, except for the fact that we'd invested time and WWE invested the money in the angle, in the match, you know."
Could the match still happen in the future? Never say never in pro wrestling.
#7 The Rock vs. Macho Man Randy Savage - WrestleMania 21
The Rock vs. Macho Man Randy Savage. It's not something that most fans probably didn't think of. But Macho Man was one of the opponents that The Great One wanted at WrestleMania 21. Dave Meltzer tweeted this out a few months ago:
In terms of WWE legends, this one had the makings of something beautiful. But given this was also around 2005, history had something else in store. Randy Savage's career as an in-ring worker was over, and a brief stint in TNA proved that point.
A former TNA Employee, Bill Behrens, explained that Macho Man was not in great shape. He explained:
"He did that spot then he did an in ring spot where he couldn't hit his own moves and he couldn't throw a punch bless his heart. Then after that he was supposed to do another spot an actual match, and he went to Jerry Jarrett and said I won't do it unless I win the title. Jerry Jarrett talked to him and talked to him and then left the meeting came to me and said: this man is insane. That pretty much was the end of Randy's run."
Imagine what could have been had things gone differently.
#6 Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Brock Lesnar - WWE RAW
It's quite amazing to think that Brock Lesnar made his debut with the company while Stone Cold Steve Austin was still wrestling. This was in the last stretches of Austin's WWE career, and a match was planned between the two. It was quite clear why Vince McMahon wanted Brock Lesnar to take on The Rattlesnake.
In his first run with the company, Brock Lesnar beat Hulk Hogan and The Rock, two icons in their own right. Throw in Austin, and it completes a trifecta of WWE Legends going down for the count. In 2002, Brock Lesnar was scheduled to win the King of the Ring, and he would take down Stone Cold in doing so.
The only thing was that the WWE Hall of Famer didn't see eye-to-eye on that. For one thing, he felt that the match needed a proper build-up and a bigger stage. He said:
"Because it wasn't time for me to do the favors yet for Brock in an unadvertised match in a tournament-style TV match whereas hey, man, I love Brock Lesnar, I'd lose to him any day of the week, but build it up so we can all make money off of it and it's going to mean something."
The multi-time WWE Champion had a point, and a PPV main-event would have been a more fitting stage. Perhaps, WrestleMania would have been the perfect stage for this proposed passing of the torch.
#5 AJ Styles vs. Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 33
This match would have been one for the ages. In an interview, Shawn Michaels revealed that the idea was pitched for him to wrestle AJ Styles at WrestleMania 33, but it was just ten years too late. He said:
"I guess I'm breaking something with you and I don't even know if I should, but I could have had that match. They didn't have an opponent for AJ at WrestleMania. I said that I hadn't been asked because I hadn't—but then I was. ... I said, 'I wish that young man was here 10 years ago, man. I honestly do. I think he's very talented.'"
For his part, AJ Styles asked Michaels himself about the possibility. Though Michaels did wrestle that match in Saudi Arabia after his retirement, he just wanted to stay retired and said no to the idea.
But it's fascinating to think what would have happened had these two met in a WrestleMania match. Sadly, at this point, a dream is all it will ever remain.
#4 Kurt Angle vs John Cena - WrestleMania 36
Kurt Angle ended his career with a loss to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35. But things might have turned out differently had Kurt Angle gotten his way. Angle had wanted to lose to John Cena on his way out. While Angle was in a program with Corbin at the time, Angle wanted Cena as he wanted to retire.
Vince McMahon told the WWE Legend that he could have John Cena at WrestleMania 36, but Angle felt that he couldn't go another year. He said:
He said, ‘If you want John Cena you got it. But this year you got Baron.’ I said, ‘Vince, I’m not going next year. I’m done, this is it.’ And he said, ‘Well, you’re stuck with this.'
It makes sense why the WWE Hall of Famer wanted John Cena. Cena made his TV debut on WWE SmackDown in 2002 and challenged Angle. In a sense, Angle's career would have come full circle if he had lost to Cena, who started his WWE career facing him.
One thing is for sure -- the WWE Universe would have loved this proposed story and the sheer history of the match and it would have brought the house down. But alas, it remains only a dream.
#3 Sting vs. The Undertaker
Sting vs. The Undertaker can be best described as the one that got away. Sting had been tempted multiple times over the years with a match against The Undertaker, but it never happened.
Part of the reason why Sting didn't come to WWE till 2014 was because he was concerned about how WWE would use his character. At WrestleMania 33, Sting did face Triple H, but the Undertaker match never came to pass. Part of the problem was that father time had caught up with both men.
Sting was 55 when he made his WWE debut, and The Undertaker was not far behind either. In an interview, The Undertaker said that it wouldn't meet the expectations that had been set. He said:
"But where I kind of differ from a lot of people is I look past the marquee value and I look on the ability to deliver. So like you said, there's so many people that are clamoring for that match that I just don't know that the match could deliver on the people's expectations."
Perhaps if Sting had come to WWE right after WCW was purchased, history might have been different. At this point, it's highly doubtful that the pair will ever actually compete in the squared circle.
#2 Bret Hart vs. Hulk Hogan -- SummerSlam 1993
Before the WWE Universe points out that the pair faced off on WCW Monday Nitro in 1998, that doesn't count. That match was a way for Bret Hart to turn heel entirely and to feud with Sting and to ally himself with Hollywood Hulk Hogan. It certainly wasn't a dream match in the slightest.
The story goes that Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan were supposed to wrestle for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam in 1993. It's been said that promotional photos were shot for the angle, but Hogan dropped the title to Yokozuna and departed WWE later.
Multiple reasons have been given over the years why Hogan didn't want to lose to Bret Hart, but the WWE Hall of Famer believes that Hogan didn't want to lose to a much better-skilled wrestler. He said:
"I think Hulk Hogan knew that someone like me could embarrass him on the ring, or really take the edge off him from a fan perspective because he was so limited as a wrestler, and being so much bigger than me, like 6’8″, wrestling a guy that was six foot, he was always gonna be the overdog, I was always gonna be the underdog against Hulk Hogan, and that would have been too big a thing, it would have been, Hulk Hogan could never make another wrestler, and especially another wrestler that might end up being bigger than him. He couldn’t bear the thought of wrestling me and making me so he completely buried the knife in me and made sure that he never worked with me."
It's interesting to note that the pair didn't have a proper match. Bret Hart was a genuine changing of the guard in WWE. Moreover, WWE missed out on a big match that would have drawn audiences. Sadly, fans will never know how a real matchup between the two would have turned out.
#1 The Rock vs. Sting - WrestleMania 21
Was this a match that people expected? It was probably not on the top of anyone's list, but there was a time that The Rock wanted to work with Sting. Perhaps reflecting on the great match he had with Hulk Hogan back at WWE WrestleMania 18, The Rock seemed to want to repeat the feat.
The Brahama Bull vs. The Icon would have been a huge event in itself that the WWE Universe would have been head over heels. According to Jim Ross, The Rock did want the match and thought it would have been a good one. He said:
"And Rock — look, the thing about this, and I may have mentioned this before. It’s worth reiterating as far as bookers are concerned. Bookers find out that the top talents who are gonna draw the money and put an ass every 18 inches know exactly who they can and cannot work well with. Meaning that a great attraction like The Rock fighting another great attraction like Sting at the biggest event of the year like WrestleMania for the first time ever is money. Here’s the key though. Rock knew in his heart that he could get a match out of Sting, who had been dormant for quite a while, without any problem. Full confidence. And I believe that too. So anyhow, yeah it was a topic we talked about."
Considering that this would have been around 2005, The Rock had already embarked on his movie career, and WWE fans had to wait until 2011 to see him back in WWE.
If Sting had taken up WWE on their offer, WrestleMania 21 would have looked a lot different.
