WWE WrestleMania 41 original match card - 14 matches that were planned; only TWO of them happened

WrestleMania 41 - Source: Getty
Triple H is WWE's Chief Content Officer. [Image Source: Getty]

One of wrestling fans' biggest obsessions is speculating on what-ifs: from what could be to what could have been. That obsession amplifies when the conversation centers around WrestleMania.

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During Episode one of the highly anticipated WWE: Unreal documentary, the viewers got a sneak peek of the WrestleMania 41 card that could have been, with a proper list of matches clearly on a whiteboard, seemingly sometime in early December, as you can check out below.

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This article will explore these matches in some more depth, categorizing them on the basis of undercard matches that didn't happen at all, bouts that actually happened, matches that were altered (whether well in time or last-minute) due to injuries, and then the biggest matches (potential 'Mania main events) that were changed, including two singles matches that turned into Triple Threats and ended up being the best matches of the weekend and potential MOTY contenders.

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#14 to #9. Planned matches that didn't happen at all at WrestleMania 41

A lot of undercard matches were altered by the Triple H-led creative team for WrestleMania 41. It makes complete sense given the number of moving pieces involved, the effort to get most of the major talents on the card, and the future direction of WWE's bigger stories and superstars.

Ladder matches for the Intercontinental Championship (featuring Jey Uso, Damian Priest, Sami Zayn, Sheamus, Bronson Reed, and Ludwig Kaiser) and the United States Championship (featuring LA Knight, Jimmy Uso, Andrade, Solo Sikoa, Santos Escobar, Carmelo Hayes, and Shinsuke Nakamura) were initially set.

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A 10-person Mixed Tag Team Match featuring The Wyatt Sicks and The Judgment Day was also scheduled for WrestleMania, and while Uncle Howdy did sustain some kind of an injury at the start of the year, that match was likely not scrapped due to an injury but because of a change in creative direction, considering The Wyatt Sicks' return soon afterward and how The Judgment Day took a much different direction leading up to WrestleMania anyway.

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Meanwhile, Jade Cargill was set to challenge Nia Jax for the WWE Women's Championship (indicating a scrapped Royal Rumble/Elimination Chamber win for Cargill); she faced Naomi instead after the former AEW TBS Champion returned at Elimination Chamber and brutalized The Glow, who was revealed as her mystery attacker. Plus, Dominik Mysterio was actually set to wrestle Bad Bunny in Las Vegas. Instead, "Dirty" Dom competed in a Fatal Four-Way Match for the Intercontinental Championship and walked out of The Show of Shows with the title.

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Finally, Drew McIntyre was supposed to wrestle Bron Breakker, with Steve Austin as the Special Guest Referee. Instead, Breakker unsuccessfully defended the IC Title in a Fatal Four-Way Match, eventually leading to his alliance with Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman on the following RAW. Meanwhile, McIntyre defeated Damian Priest in a Street Fight, while Austin crashed an ATV multiple times after having had a few beers, leading to a female fan in the front row getting knocked down.

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#8 & #7. Matches that actually happened at WrestleMania 41, as planned in December

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Only two matches actually happened as planned when the initial drafts of the 'Mania 41 card were drawn up by The Game and Co. The first one was AJ Styles wrestling Logan Paul in a singles bout. The Maverick, of course, picked up the win over The Phenomenal One at the show.

The biggest match of the weekend and arguably the biggest match of the year, Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship, was the only other initially planned match that was on the card, though the nature of it could have been very different, with Cena not winning the Royal Rumble and his heel turn being decided just a few days ahead of Elimination Chamber: Toronto.

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#6, #5, & #4. Matches that were planned for 'Mania 41 but were altered due to injuries

Randy Orton was, of course, set to lock horns with Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 41, a match that was scrapped due to Owens' complications concerning his neck leading up to the event. The Viper faced then-TNA World Champion Joe Hendry in a memorable squash match instead.

WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio was also set to wrestle Chad Gable at WrestleMania, although it is not clear whether the El Grande Americano gimmick had already been conceived at that point. Nevertheless, due to the injury Mysterio suffered on SmackDown before The Showcase of The Immortals, Gable/Americano wrestled Rey Fenix instead.

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Interestingly, Travis Scott was supposed to be in Rey's corner, and while that may seem far-fetched and rather odd, it certainly couldn't have been more disastrous than what Scott actually did at the show.

Finally, two of the greatest stars in women's wrestling history, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, both with their storied history, were initially planned to fight Asuka and IYO SKY for the Women's Tag Team Championship. The plans seemingly changed due to Asuka's injury-related absence and the uncertainty around The Man's status at the time. SKY eventually won the Women's World Title on the Road to The Show of Shows and retained it in Las Vegas in a Triple Threat Match against Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair.

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Charlotte won the Women's Royal Rumble and went on to challenge Tiffany Stratton for the WWE Women's Championship. Meanwhile, Becky teamed up with Lyra Valkyria and challenged for the Women's Tag Team Title.


#3, #2, & #1. The biggest matches WWE canceled for WrestleMania 41

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Some of the biggest potential matches for WrestleMania 41 that did not happen, despite all of these being heavily speculated upon or wished for by fans and experts as well, included the Women's World Championship being contested between Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley, although it ended up being a Triple Threat Match with the addition of IYO SKY, who walked in and walked out as champion in arguably the best match of the weekend.

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Similarly, the initial plan was for Roman Reigns to go one-on-one with Seth Rollins for the first time on The Grandest Stage of Them All. However, the match would ultimately become a Triple Threat and also feature CM Punk, who was originally slated to challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at the show.

That spot ultimately went to Jey Uso, who won the Men's Royal Rumble and dethroned The Ring General in Las Vegas. This hinted that Punk and Cena were initially slated to win the Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber Match, with that actually being the predominant sentiment among the people in the writers' room, too.

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Edited by Yash Mittal
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