A great Article from the Observer Website

[Guest Rrrsh]

Mania matches that weren't

by Justin Shapiro

 

Right, so, the idea behind this about a month ago was that as a goof, a laugh, on all of the "Top 10 Wrestlemania Matches" columns that invariably propagate around Maniatime each year, I would make my own list of the best Wrestlemania matches that never actually took place. Change the paradiggum! It was a smashingly clever idea, except then I didn't do a Heat report the week of Mania 21, and no one is really writing Mania minutia pieces anymore. Irregardless. There's no real Heat content this week, so I need something to justify putting a second report on the site. And I'm not rewriting any more semi-obscure Bob Dylan songs, so

 

THE ARCANIA OF WRESTLEMANIA: THE 30 GREATEST MATCHES IN WRESTLEMANIA HISTORY WHICH DIDN'T HAPPEN

 

Criteria: None! Actually, criteria is that these were matches that were talked about at one point and then they, well, they didn't materialize for one reason or another.

Caveat: It's possible I could be wrong or lying. But I am probably less wrong or lying than most. These skew heavily towards the last five or six years, when you've got more names on top and more changing ideas for what they should do.

 

Honorable Mentions: CARD SHARKED

Razor Ramon vs. Goldust, Wrestlemania 12

Mankind vs. Vader, Wrestlemania 13

Kane vs. X-Pac, Wrestlemania 16

Edge vs. William Regal, Wrestlemania 18

John Cena vs. Fabolous and Jay-Z, Wrestlemania 19

Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry, Wrestlemania 20

 

Underneath matches I don't think anyone really cares about:

- Scott Hall and Goldust were feuding over the Intercontinental Title, but Hall gave notice to jump to WCW and was coincidentally suspended for failing a drug test, so they put Roddy Piper in his spot.

- Mick Foley wrote in Have A Nice Day about his idea to reprise his WCW feud with Vader, but it was decided to make them a team first so they could break up and then feud. Except they never got around to the breakup or the feud. Too bad, 'cause that show could've used another good match.

- Kane and X-Pac were programmed for like six months from the end of 1999 to the beginning of 2000 and were building to some kind of ultimate blowoff for Mania involving explosions or something. But that got nixed and they did a not-so-ultimate tag match instead.

- Edge and Regal were programmed for like four months from the end of 2001 to the beginning of 2002 and were building to Edge regaining the IC title at Mania. But the matches were boring and the feud wasn't over, so they aborted it with one month left and put Rob Van Dam over the belt instead.

- John Cena was supposed to "battle rap" against some stiff MCs, but it fell through. What'd do you want him to do, man, call out your fiance? He'd have a better competition battle rapping with Beyonce.

- Matt Hardy as a heel was on a losing streak gimmick after jumping to Raw, and apparently the plan was that he'd finally pick up a big win and turn face by beating the Very Strong Man, Mark Henry. Except Henry got hurt just before Mania, Hardy didn't get on the show, and things would get increasingly worse for him from there.

 

 

30-29. DREAM DEFERRED

Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior, Wrestlemania 7

Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair, Wrestlemania 8

 

These are ranked so low because I'm almost positive they're not really real. Hogan vs. Warrior might've been a long term idea, but when the time came, with Warrior not drawing like Hogan did, I assume they thought there was more money in Hogan chasing the title against a heel, especially draped in the flag against a Per$ian Gulf War-based heel. Hogan vs. Flair was announced on TV, but just as storyline, as the main event with Hogan had been promised to Sid Justice all along, Hogan/Flair had already done a house show run, and, as funny as it sounds, Vince probably thought a monster like Sid would be the bigger draw. Would both suggested matches have been cooler and more historic? Yeah. Were they ever concretely planned to happen? I don't believe so. An interesting sidenote is that if you read Observers from late '90-91, there's actually some speculation that if the WWF really thinks they're going to sell out the L.A. Colosseum, then their best bet would be if the unhappy Ric Flair left WCW for the WWF and wrestled Hogan. A little under a year later and he does, but they never headline a Wrestlemania. They do headline a Bash at the Beach, but it's not quite the same thing.

 

 

28-27. ALL SIZZLE, NO STREAK

The Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle, Wrestlemania 21

The Undertaker and Kane vs. Gene Snitsky and John Heidenreich, Wrestlemania 21

 

After Kurt Angle's return from a neck injury in summer 2004, he and Undertaker came up with the idea of headlining Wrestlemania 21 on the Smackdown side as the two top stars who would be kept apart building to the big match, where Taker would finally be able to have a classic match at Mania. Well, Bradshaw's title reign inexplicably kept going and Angle's neck explicably started hurting again, and plans changed. Inspired by the success of their amazing vignettes together, there arose the idea of teaming Snitsky and Heidenreich against a reunited Taker and Kane in an interpromotional tag match conflating each brands' respective awful feud. However, over the past five years, the Undertaker has shown a remarkable knack for getting out of bad Wrestlemania matches and getting into good ones. Instead of a probable tag match against Rikishi and Haku at 17, he ended up with a strong match with Triple H. Instead of a suggested match with Kevin Nash at 18, he ended up with a good match with Ric Flair. And here, instead of a nightmare of a match against Snitsky and Heidenreich, he ended up having a very good match with Randy Orton. By also opening the door for the Angle vs. Shawn Michaels match, there's probably been no decision in the history of wrestling to cause a greater swing in match quality.

 

 

26-24. YOU GO, BOSS

Vince McMahon vs. Mick Foley, Wrestlemania 17

Vince McMahon vs. Eric Bischoff, Wrestlemania 19

Vince McMahon vs. Steve Austin, Wrestlemania 20

 

I think it's safe to assume that we're never going to see Vince wrestle a match again, although after seeing his Lazarus-like appearance on Monday, maybe I should think twice. Still, McMahon turned down doing a match with Foley for this year's show even before he obliterated his legs at the Royal Rumble. Foley regrets not doing the match when it was first offered to him in 2001, opting instead to referee Vince vs. Shane. In 2003, the allure and drawing power of a McMahon/Bischoff match had already been nullified by the nature of Eric's introduction and role on TV, but it was going to happen anyway, until Hulk Hogan showed up again and took the match and the Mania payday from his dear friend. They ran it a year later on TV with Austin officiating as an afterthought in the build to Wrestlemania 20 -- the idea had actually been to have an Austin vs. McMahon shortcut brawl-type match after Vince had spent the entire year getting heat on himself going over Hogan, Zach Gowen, Stephanie, and Undertaker. The only problem was nobody bothered to tell Austin and he declined doing the match. Vince vs. Bret Hart is only going to happen when cloning is invented.

 

 

23-22. QUAD QUITTY DJs

Steve Austin vs. Triple H, Wrestlemania 18

Steve Austin vs. Triple H, Wrestlemania 19

 

The best laid plans of vice and men. When Triple H tore his quad in May 2001, he was in a tag team with a heel Steve Austin, the point of which was to lead to a breakup that would turn Hunter face and let him challenge Austin for the world title. The injury put him on the shelf for some seven months and gave him a natural sympathetic return angle to come back and headline Mania 18 with -- a face Triple H winning the WWF Title from heel Steve Austin. Weird to think about, huh? Everything fell into place for Hunter, but nothing fell into place for anybody else. With WWF booking and any semblance of longterm direction disintegrating in HHH's absence, Austin was turned back babyface before Hunter returned for their match. They kept the idea of HHH returning from injury to win the world title, but used Chris Jericho as the heel champion instead, and it did not work out very well for him. Or for Hunter, for that matter, since his Mania main event and big title win didn't get over and played to mostly silence.

 

Upset with, among other things, that disintegrating WWF booking, Steve Austin left the WWF a couple months after Mania 18. By Mania 19, he was back in the fold, and his natural opponents to return against were the Rock and Triple H. With Rock's sights set on doing a match with Goldberg, that paired up Austin and HHH. Hunter laid the groundwork for Austin's return by alluding to "pulling an Austin" and walking out on Raw, and by objecting to Austin's winning Raw Superstar of the Decade in January. But once again, the Austin Wrestlemania match got away from him when a deal couldn't be reached with Goldberg and the decision was made to reprise the Austin/Rock rivalry. Since Kevin Nash would not be recovered from his own torn quad in time to work with him at Mania, Hunter had to settle for and bury Booker T.

 

 

21-20. HARD ROCK CACHET

The Rock vs. Goldberg, Wrestlemania 19

The Rock vs. John Bradshaw Layfield, Wrestlemania 21

 

After the end of his career as a full-time on the road performer in 2001, it seems like the Rock has made it his goal to come up with original, special matches as a good reason to come back for Wrestlemania each year. In 2002, he wrestled Hulk Hogan in a dream match, and in 2004, he reunited the Rock & Sock Connection and wrestled Ric Flair. I would think Rock would probably consider both matches artistic successes in terms of doing something original and special, performing with legends and drawing record-setting buyrates. But he's had other ideas that didn't quite come to fruition. In 2003, Rock essentially personally brokered a deal between Goldberg and WWE so that he could have another never-before-seen Wrestlemania dream match. However, that deal wasn't finalized in time to set up a match for Mania, so it was held off for the next month. Alas, the buildup was a disaster, the match wasn't much better, and the buyrate was far from record-setting. Rock put over Goldberg with the idea of winning a rematch at Wrestlemania 20, but they didn't bother.

 

For Mania 21, Rock was purportedly very excited to once again come back and do something special for Wrestlemania, and had come up with a handful of ideas that he suggested to Vince. One of these was to wrestle Sting, whose name has been semi-seriously mentioned for every Mania since 17. According to Dave, the Sting match was only his second-best idea, and if I was to speculate, I might guess at his wanting to do a singles match with Flair stemming from the year before (already done once but few remember it), or a Rock and Steve Austin vs. Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair dream tag match that Dave and Mike Tenay thought about on one Observer Live. Whatever it was, WWE had different ideas and wanted him to wrestle JBL, back when the plan was to keep the belt on him indefinitely through the spring. At some point there was even talk of Rock winning the title and dropping it back two days later to swerve everyone who would assume he couldn't win. Anyway, it all became moot when the company let his contract expire in an "oversight" and he ended up not working the show in any capacity. Our loss. Things would certainly be a lot different right now if Rock/Layfield had happened; for one, John Cena's coronation would've been held off. Instead, WM21 ended the show with their two young hopes for the future as the new world champions: John Cena and Randy Orton. Or ... wait.

 

 

19-18. DESTINY'S CHILD ABUSE

Randy Orton vs. Triple H, Wrestlemania 20

Randy Orton vs. Triple H, Wrestlemania 21

 

Poor Randy, taken out of the main event two years in a row. The far-reaching purpose behind Evolution was to do a big breakup angle between Triple H and Randy Orton, making Orton a top star and lead to their first ever match at Wrestlemania. In the fall of 2003, the idea was that Orton and Batista would punk HHH out of Evolution and he would go for revenge as a face. However, Hunter rightfully realized that it was way too soon to do the breakup for WM 20 and that the match would be held off until WM 21. They continued to do everything right in building up Orton for next year and put the world title on him to set the stage for the big breakup -- whereupon they decided to skip the entire angle and just do it the very next day. And because Orton was getting cheered, he was now going to be the face as the rising star chasing the established name. Strike one, because there was no actual storytelling to get Orton over as a face before the split, nobody took to him as a face after the split. Strike two, because they shot the angle months earlier than they were supposed to, they ran the first ever HHH/Orton match immediately rather than holding off until Mania. Strike three, because Orton as a face had to chase the title, he dropped the belt to Hunter in his very first title defense. Strike four, because Batista was getting significantly over doing the exact Evolution dissention angle that Orton should have been doing, and because Orton lost all the time and never caught on as a face, by the end of the year they'd made the decision to scrap the four months of his chasing HHH and go with Batista/Hunter instead. Strike four, you're out of action for five months instead of headlining Wrestlemania and winning the world title.

 

 

17-15. WHERE NONE OF IT BEGAN ... NEVER

Mick Foley vs. Triple H, Wrestlemania 20

Chris Benoit vs. Triple H, Wrestlemania 20

Chris Benoit vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels ladder match, Wrestlemania 20

 

So when they postponed the planned Orton/Hunter breakup past Mania 20, Triple H needed a new opponent, and he'd already killed off all of his potential rivals on Raw. I can recall early suggestions, I don't know how serious, that Triple H might wrestle Mick Foley in a rematch of their famous MSG street fight, but obviously he ended up doing the major Orton program to elevate a new star. Instead, Smackdown's Chris Benoit got the call and was put over in the Royal Rumble in the strongest way imaginable. At some point, either out of trepidation that Benoit wasn't getting immediately over the way they'd hoped or out of desire to get Shawn Michaels a main event spot, the Triple H/Michaels feud was extended and the match was made a triple threat. There were rumors that this would end up being a ladder match, playing off the ten year anniversary of Shawn's first Madison Square Garden ladder match, but that was scrapped because a finish of grabbing the belt would be less dramatic as the Wrestlemania climax than a pin or submission. All in all, no singles match, no ladder match, you'd have to say that things ended up working out pretty darn great the way they did.

 

 

14-13. TRIFORCE OF WISDOM

Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. Mankind, Wrestlemania 15

Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. Triple H, Wrestlemania 17

 

In 1999, Mick Foley had gotten so over as a babyface that there was some talk of adding him to the main event with Rock and Austin, but it was decided -- in part by Shawn Michaels' suggestion, according to Have A Nice Day -- that the main event of Wrestlemania ought to be a big one-on-one match. In 2001, Triple H had gotten so over as a heel that there was some talk of adding him to the main event with Rock and Austin, but it was decided -- in part by Triple H's suggestion, according to Triple H -- that the main event of Wrestlemania ought to be a big one-on-one match. And I'm very glad it was, because while I'm sure X-7 still would've been a huge show with the three top stars wrestling, I don't think it would've been as successful as the Rock vs. Steve Austin singles match. Anyways, if there's one thing that should and would never happen, it's a threeway match in the main event of Wrestlemania. At least that's what Triple H and Shawn Michaels told me.

 

 

12-10. GAME'S SET MATCH

Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels, WM 17

Triple H vs. Ray Lewis, WM 17

Triple H vs. Hulk Hogan, WM 17

 

Being, then, odd man out at Wrestlemania 17, Hunter needed a match. Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle didn't have programs, but he'd already feuded with them and never really put them over, so ... err, nevermind. There were waves made that Shawn Michaels would make his long-awaited comeback match here, but it was decided to save it by using him in a non-wrestling role at Mania to set up an angle for his in-ring return. Instead, Michaels was kept off the show altogether after he was sent home for showing up to TV in no condition to not be Shawn Michaels, and his comeback didn't happen for another year and a half. Another idea was shades of Wrestlemania 11 with Triple H wrestling Super Bowl MVP Ray Lewis, who would be able to rehab his killer image by playing face against the top heel. It didn't materialize, and they already had one Raven on the show anyway. The third idea was bringing in Hulk Hogan, who was a free agent with no contractual ties to WCW. They couldn't come to an agreement with him either, and it's a good thing they didn't, or else they would've never been able to do another 950,000 buys the next year by offering Hogan's return against the Rock because they would've already used it up here. Hunter and Hogan did have their match a year later, but it drew a disappointing buyrate.

 

 

9-8. NECKS TO NOTHING

Steve Austin vs. Big Show, Wrestlemania 16

The Rock vs. Triple H, Wrestlemania 16

 

When the WWF signed Paul Wight in 1999, he was going to headline Wrestlemania 16 with Steve Austin. Giving the match away for free before Wrestlemania 15 and putting Austin over clean probably should have indicated that this wasn't actually going to happen. Over the course of the year, Big Show didn't get over at anything approaching a Mania main event level, while it quickly became clear that the Rock was catching on as a superstar in a way that few have. So Show was out, but then so was Austin -- his damaged neck finally giving out in November and requiring career-threatening spinal fusion surgery that took him out of the Mania picture. Instead, the Rock would take over as A#1 babyface and now wrestle Triple H, who went from transitional champion to Mania headliner thanks to the absence of Austin and the generosity of Mick Foley putting him over clean in superstar-making matches. Except ... Foley's retirement angle had actually made him a bigger star than ever before, so he was added to the main event to make it a multi-man match a year later than he'd have preferred. Thusly, to make it an even four (and involve all of the McMahons in the process), the Big Show ended up getting into the Wrestlemania 16 main event after all.

 

 

7-5. BROTHER LOVE

Steve Austin vs. Hulk Hogan, Wrestlemania 18

Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle, Wrestlemania 18

Steve Austin vs. Chris Benoit, Wrestlemania 18

 

When the New World Order or should I say New World Odor was signed in January 2002, the Mania dream match with Hulk Hogan was offered to Steve Austin before it was offered to the Rock, and he turned it down flat. Austin apparently neither likes nor trusts Hogan, and the events of the last month shouldn't really give him any reason to change his mind. Austin passed on headlining a record-setting pay-per-view for the second year in a row, but he did, and has continued to, avoid being shown up on a grand scale by the master manipulator. In the sense that the match was never on the books, perhaps Austin vs. Hogan shouldn't technically be on this list. The other two matches, however, were apparently both plenty appealing to Austin and plenty close to happening. Austin's preference was to wrestle a returning Chris Benoit at Mania, as he's one of his favorite opponents. But Benoit wasn't ready to return in time for the show. Kurt Angle makes for one fine second option, but he was only earmarked as the contingency plan in case Austin's scheduled opponent, Scott Hall, were to make such a disgrace of himself that he was fired before they even got to Wrestlemania. Unfortunately, he lasted another month or so and we had to suffer their match at Mania when we could have seen Austin vs. Angle or Benoit.

 

 

4-3. HOUSTON, WE HAVE OTHER PROBLEMS ELSEWHERE

Steve Austin vs. The Rock, Wrestlemania 16

Steve Austin vs. The Rock, Wrestlemania 18

 

Who can get enough Austin vs. Rock at Wrestlemania? In these instances, however, each match essentially got pushed back twelve months. For Wrestlemania 16, the supposed plans prior to Austin's injury were for an Austin/Rock rematch possibly involving Austin turning heel. Instead, that happened at Wrestlemania 17 after Austin's comeback. For Wrestlemania 18, Rock and Austin's rematch from 17 had been held off past Rock's return at SummerSlam. The two were kept apart and teased an eventual match before the unification tournament at Vengeance in December and before the Royal Rumble in January, theoretically leading to their meeting at Wrestlemania 18 with Rock looking to prove that he could beat Austin. Instead, Hogan was brought in to wrestle one or the other, and their match and Rock's win didn't take place until Wrestlemania 19. The timing worked out well for the company, because delaying the match in 2000 let them do a big Mania buyrate anyway, then with anticipation for the match even stronger, a record-setting one the next year. In 2002, then, it's unlikely that Rock vs. Austin would have drawn as well as Rock vs. Hogan in Hogan's return match. Finally, in 2003, neither Austin vs. Rock nor a Hogan return match proved to be as successful a draw as they'd hoped.

 

 

2-1. MONTREAL DO JOBS

Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, Wrestlemania 13

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin, Wrestlemania 14

 

Yeah, these two are rather interrelated. In February 1997, Shawn Michaels took himself out of the planned Mania match with Bret Hart, a rematch from the year before in which he'd return the job to Bret Hart. Astoundingly, at the time his smile was lost, the decision had already been made to make Undertaker vs. Sid the world title match and Hart vs. Michaels as second from the top. Nevertheless, Hart/Michaels was still the most marketable match that the company had at the time, and it would take another seven months to make it happen. Instead of wrestling Shawn, Bret continued his feud with Steve Austin and, as it turned out, the two had arguably the greatest match in Wrestlemania history as well as one of the most important matches in WWF history turning Austin babyface -- and none of it would've happened the way it did if Michaels hadn't pulled out. With the nuclear-hot Austin feuding with Bret Hart and the Hart Foundation in summer '97, one would figure that the longterm idea was for Austin to win the WWF Title at Wrestlemania 14 in a rematch from the year before in which Hart would return the job to Austin. Things changed drastically, however, in between the summer of '97 and the end of the year, with Austin not only breaking his neck, but Bret would end up on his way out of the WWF. After intentionally breaching his contract, McMahon outlined a scenario for Bret in which, should he stay with the WWF, he would in fact wrestle Austin at Mania and put him over for the title. This scenario also involved putting over Michaels repeatedly before Mania, and Hart signed with WCW. So after Montreal, it was Michaels who ended up putting over Austin in his coronation at Wrestlemania, doing the Wrestlemania job that Hart missed doing for Austin in place of the Wrestlemania job that he avoided doing for Hart.

 

Both matches, Hart/Michaels in '97 and Hart/Austin in '98, are pretty cool to think about in isolation, because they each pay off a famous rivalry and a year's worth of unresolved storylines. But imagine a world in which Hart didn't wrestle Austin at WM13, or in which Hart was around for WM14, and you can't even fathom how drastically different everything else would have been. As is the case with many of these matches, but none were as pivotal as these two.

 

 

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Which one of these matches would you have LOVED to seen instead of what really happened, and what match would have just killed the WWE?

[tommytomlin 0]

Orton/Triple H at Wrestlemania 20 would have been an absolute flop, but I would have loved to see Austin vs Hogan at WM 18. I still can't believe the WWE had both those guys and never pulled the trigger.

[Slickster 0]

Ray Lewis vs. HHH?

[King Cucaracha 0]

Vader vs. Mankind would have been so much better than tha tag match they put in it's place. Vader vs. Mankind and then maybe Owen/Bulldog vs. The Headbangers, seeing as they got a title shot the next night anyway..would have been much better.

[Guest Ransome]

If their matches from 2001 are any indicator, Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 18 would have been excellent. At the very least, it would have been a better choice than giving the washed-up Scott Hall such a high WM spot.

 

I'm suprised he didn't rate Hogan vs Flair as within the top 10 - I can't believe they postponed the opportunity to pit biggest WWF star of the 80s against the biggest NWA star of the 80s at Wrestlemania, back when they could still go. Why deny us that dream matchup in favour of Hogan vs Sid with a Papa Shango run-in?

 

I remember reading rumours in 2001 that all but guaranteed Kurt Angle would face Ken Shamrock at WM X-7 (this was around the time that Angle introduced the ankle lock into his moveset). Anyone else know if this was true?

[Guest Stunt Granny]

Or maybe Bulldog vs. Owen at WM 13? They had a great match in Germany a few weeks prior for the Euro title, a rematch at Wrestlemania would have been the tits. And they could have reunited with Bret the next night regaurdless.

[Promoter 0]

Just going over some of these matches and the possible outcomes on the product are pretty interesting. I will try to see how things might have played out. The guy did miss out on some matches such as Hogan vs. Piper at WM 2. That might not have made that much of a difference in the wwf, but it would not allow wcw to have the powder keg of a rivalry in 1996 where Piper bragged that he was the only man who Hogan couldn't beat in the 80's. Hogan/Piper just killed Bret/Sid in drawing power for December 1996 for ratings and buy-rates. If Hogan had gone over Piper at WM 2 the feud in wcw would not have the same aura. Hogan vs. Piper was also a rumoured match for WM 7 where Piper would take the strap off Ultimate Warrior. This could have been true due to the nature of how Piper was heelish in commentary in terms of Ultimate Warrior even though he was a face commentator. Ricky Steamboat and Randy Savage was also rumoured to be at WM 2 alledgedly, but it was held off until WM 3. I think we know the result of that turned out to be better in the long run, but I wonder how it would have been for Savage/Steamboat at WM 4?

 

The wwe was going downhill in 1991, but I believe it was their own incompetence that caused it. Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair at WM 7 was rumoured in Toronto as well as Hogan/Warrior. There were rumours Flair was in talks with Vince around WM 6. Now, how would things have played out if Hogan vs. Flair happened at WM 7? I think they might have had a shot at getting a monster record if it was booked strong and the "Real World's Champion" storyline was a pretty good one. Flair and Hogan were still strong although they weren't at their heights of popularity or physical best as in '86-'89. This was a dream match and it would have avoided the disaster the company encountered in the media with the Hogan/Slaughter match. They might have had problems still drawing over 100,000 fans because I believe the company just got too cartoonish. If they had booked things like they did in 1986 and 1987 I have good reason to believe they would have made the mark(remember Big Event and WM 3 booking?). Another dream match the wwf botched for WM 7 was The Road Warriors(LOD) vs. Demolition. That didn't turn out too well, but there was a time when this was a dream match. It could have helped WM 7 draw for the LA Coliseum if they didn't rush it months before and made it anti-climatic.

 

 

Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior could have worked imo as well. One big reason Ultimate Warrior wasn't drawing as they wanted to imo was that he did not have any real big feuds that people cared about. He won the title and then feuded with Rick Rude all summer just as he did the year prior. Then they put him in half-ass feuds with Ted Dibiase. I actually think the Slaughter match if Warrior won would have raised his stock back up for a match with Hogan. Of course, it has never come across "insider's" minds that maybe Warrior vetoed jobbing back the title. With his ego I wouldn't put it past him. Then there are those who think the match was never going to happen which I also question when you think about Hogan not getting his win back which he always does. I think the match would have sold out the LA Coliseum if they had turned Ultimate Warrior heel and even put him in the Slaughter role. Things would have changed the landscape for sure in 1991.

 

Vince Mcamhon vs. Eric Bischoff if it was planned could have also changed the landscape if they really wanted to bring back wcw which I remember was also rumoured. As mentioned they pretty much ruined the whole thing with Bischoff's first appearance. However, if they did Bischoff/Mcmahon in a fashion they wanted to do Flair/Mcmahon's feud the brand split might look different today. What if Vince listened to some of his staff that wanted to bring wcw back?

 

Steve Austin vs. HHH is a strange one. I remember Heyman and HHH were rumoured to be pushing for this match at WM 17. I loved Rock/Austin, but maybe they should have done this match because of what transpired after WM 17. Austin returning from injury and winning the title in Texas against Triple H as champion would make things a lot different for many reasons. Of course, at the time Rock/Austin was highly anticipated, so that was done. Austin vs. HHH at WM 18 might have also worked well, but only if they didn't bring in the nWo. It just would not have seemed right for Mania when fans wanted to see Rock and Austin against the nWo.

 

Rock vs. Austin is a great example of timing. I knew I remembered rumours about Rock/Austin at WM 16 and the wwe was wondering who to turn heel because they were doing polls on their popularity and stuff. They even had them teaming up before the Survivor Series. I think if Austin did not get hurt their match at WM 16 would have turned Austin heel MUCH better depending if the WM 17 match was just pushed back. HHH would not have got that heel win and imagine how different things would be if HHH was not pushed as a main eventer. I think the wwe would have done bigger business then they did. The Rock was at his peak in popularity and Austin's turn would have gone over better with the California crowd in 2000. HHH would not have leverage in saying he was a drawing champion with Rock and Foley which I'm sure plays a part in his reign of terror we see today.

 

The Rock vs. Goldberg would have been better at WrestleMania simply because of the atmosphere. They ruined Goldberg's first appearance anyways with that vignette at Mania which killed the surprise the next night on RAW. They are doing it again with Hogan's "last match" this weekend. It should have happened at Mania. There is a reason why the event gets a big buy-rate. Fans put out to pay for the event because it's WrestleMania and saving "big matches" for lesser ppv for buys doesn't work anymore with all these damn ppv shows imo. The Rock vs. HHH at Mania 16 would have also changed the course of history because I'm quite sure Rock would not have jobbed in that scenario. He might have been a better champion and not have that label of being a better belt chaser than champion.

 

WrestleMania XX's alternate with the biggest feuds of the last 20 years was a nice idea and maybe they should have just done it because Vince's promise about XX being about the future was hollow. It would have saved us from some of the terrible filler on the show. Remember there were was going to be video recaps and matches? Either way none of this would matter.

 

WrestleMania 13 in hindsight could have been WAY better than it was and if things were done differently the wwe could have returned to glory earlier than it did. The thing with this timeframe is that it's very hard to tell how things would have been if it didn't go down the way it did. Vader/Mankind is one example, but I really liked the idea of British Bulldog and Owen Hart at the event with Bret re-uniting the family the night after on RAW. I loved Bret/Austin like everyone else, but I think if that match happened at WM 14 with Austin winning the title that would have been even better. Bret getting his job back from HBK and turning heel the night after would have given the wwe the response to the nWo it needed. Of course, Austin, HBK, and Bret were kind of banged up around the time. Remember Bret had surgery not too long after the Mania 13 match, but still appeared on television.

 

So.....WM 13's alternate.

WWF Championship : Bret Hart over HBK to win the title and turns heel the night after.

 

British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart in most likely a classic

 

Then you would have Austin still rising and he could have possibly faced off against either Sid or Undertaker, but they probably still would have done UT/Sid. Austin would be up against HHH or Rocky Maivia. Of course, they could have just went with Hart/Austin as the title match anyways how things went down. I think Vince still would have got rid of Bret with that contract and maybe Austin would have been crowned at SummerSlam and would not get injured which also changes history big time. HBK would not have got injured in a casket title match if he wasn't champion. HHH is kind of very lucky when you think about things. HBK and Austin would not have been the injured stars they would become. HHH really got his push because of lack of top stars in 1999 and 2000 with only Rock being a true main eventer. I know Foley was popular, but that was really because of his cell match stunts. Rock was more of a true main eventer in the vien of Austin and HBK.

Then some say Vince would not have done the Mr. Mcmahon character which is true to some extent, but he was already putting himself in storylines before the Montreal incident. Remember Vince was trying to stop Austin from returning from injury to soon. It shows how much a year can make a difference. Then you got to consider the Mike Tyson incident which still would have happened, but he would perhaps be put in the Hart Foundation.

 

Triple H against Hogan at WM 17 would have sucked and ruined the Hogan/Rock scenario. However, I still think Hogan vs. Austin in Toronto would have been better. I mean if Austin got booed against Hogan like that it is a real bizzaro world as Austin is hardly ever booed. Then if you take into account Austin's heel turn was kept I think this match would have really been the biggest buy-rate ever. The storyline would have to be a lot different though. I would have Austin reign with the title all year from WM 17 and proclaim to be the greatest champion of all-time and enter HULK HOGAN to accept his challenge. MONEY!!!!!!! Austin should have been the first undisputed champion and run the angle with Hogan's wcw fall-out with being the "real world's champion". The triple threat matches should not have happened at WM 15 AND 16 imo.

[Fro 0]

The big one missing here is the Lennox Lewis v.s. Brock Lesnar MMA match (and Kurt Angle v.s. Riddick Bowe on the undercard in a MMA match).

[Guest Joe_G]

The big one missing here is the Lennox Lewis v.s. Brock Lesnar MMA match (and Kurt Angle v.s. Riddick Bowe on the undercard in a MMA match).

 

I thought that was going to be at an earlier PPV (No Way Out?) to build up Angle and Lesnar for their Mania XIX match.

[Guest Stunt Granny]

Weren't their plans for an Austin vs. Pillman match at Wresltmania 13? I remember something like that but the program never got off the grond as Pilman was nowhere near ready to get back in the ring.