THE TOP 10 WRESTLEMANIA MATCHES THAT ALMOST HAPPENED

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Hollywood Hogan (Wrestlemania 18) 

 

This should have obviously taken place. The two biggest names in wrestling history were finally in the same company at the same time. When the NWO made their debut at No Way Out, the entire world expected Austin vs. Hogan.

 

This match was meant to happen but egos got in the way, as both sides weren’t willing to put over the other. Hogan wasn’t willing to put over Austin but he was willing to put over The Rock, which is exactly why we got that match instead. 

 

2. HBK vs. Eddie Guerrero (Wrestlemania 22) 

 

These two wrestlers were on different brands, with Eddie being a key member of the Smackdown roster and Shawn being on Raw. Prior to Eddie’s death, it was alleged that a bona fide dream match between him and Michaels had been set for WrestleMania 22. This match would have stolen the show and went down as one of the greatest matches in Wrestlemania history. 

 

3. Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair (Wrestlemania 8) 

 

In 1991, Ric Flair arrived in the WWE and proclaimed himself to be the “Real World’s Champion.” The end game appeared to be a match with the current champion Hulk Hogan. They would have several house show matches, but attendance would decrease each time, causing the company to pivot to Flair vs Randy Savage and Hogan vs Sid Justice for Wrestlemania VIII.

 

Thus, the Wrestlemania dream match never took place. While WWE didn’t capitalize on the dream match, WCW held their first PPV encounter at WCW Bash At The Beach in 1994. The contest was a major success, and Hogan and Flair’s rivalry was a significant fixture in WCW for several years.

 

4. Sting vs. The Undertaker (Wrestlemania 31) 

 

Fans never thought they’d see both of these men on the WWE roster at the same time, and they were clamoring for a showdown between the two when Sting made his shocking WWE debut. Despite the fan’s interest in 2014, WWE didn’t go with the dream match and instead had Sting work with Triple H. It’s a surprising decision considering the popularity of the two men during the Monday Night Wars. 

 

This is often listed in wrestling magazines as a “what could have been”, similar to Austin vs. Goldberg. It’s frustrating knowing they were both available and the match still never happened. Sting has repeatedly said that he wanted the match, but the Undertaker declined. The Undertaker said he didn’t want to let the fans down and by 2014 he wasn’t in the shape to give them the dream match they deserved.

 

5. AJ Styles vs. HBK (Wrestlemania 33) 

 

There was a faint possibility of this match happening at WrestleMania 33, but Shawn Michaels felt it was 10 years too late. 

 

Considering how good of a talent AJ Styles is in the ring, this might have been an absolute banger. Shawn was one of the best in the company. The two matches with Undertaker at ‘Mania were the stuff of legend. That, plus the fact that AJ helped Undetaker have the most deserving farewell shows that Styles could have given HBK just as good of a match!

 

6. HBK vs. Bret Hart 2 (Wrestlemania 13) 

 

This match not taking place kickstarted all of the drama that would culminate in the Montreal screw job. 

 

Bret put Shawn over at Wrestlemania 12 in their classic Iron Man match, with the understanding that a rematch would be set for Wrestlemania 13 with Bret going over and Shawn returning the favor. 

 

But Shawn “lost his smile” ,faked a knee injury, and pulled out of Wrestlemania 13 all together. 

 

Shawn not wanting to do business and put over Bret after Bret did it for Shawn is the reason Bret refused to lose to Shawn at Survivor Series ‘97. 

 

7. Kurt Angle vs. Sting (Wrestlemania 18) 

 

According to former WWE writer Dave Lagana, this dream match was considered a guarantee by WWE officials and plans were in place for the storyline to be built-up and booked for Toronto.

 

The franchise player of WCW was understandably concerned with how he would be treated after seeing the booking of the likes of Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page after jumping ship during Vince’s 2001 buyout of the company.

 

It was completely understandable why Sting felt like this. After all, on the same card he was scheduled to face Angle, Booker T lost to Edge in a rivalry over a Japanese shampoo commercial, and DDP was seen briefly in a throw away European Championship match with Christian.

 

And that wasn’t a good thing.

 

Stinger’s decision to stay sidelined and sit out the remainder of his guaranteed TimeWarner contract would see Kurt instead find himself in the mid-card in a singles match against Kane.

 

8. CM Punk vs. HHH (Wrestlemania 30) 

 

This is the one planned Wrestlemania match that never happened that worked out in the long run because we got the great Daniel Bryan storyline that night. 

 

The ‘Miracle on Bourbon Street’ with Daniel Bryan gave us brief respite from the Authority and showed that occasionally, WWE does listen to the fans.

 

CM Punk was growing more frustrated with the company and their over-reliance on part-time performers such as Brock Lesnar and Batista.

 

The ‘Summer of Punk’ would lead us into an initial rivalry between the two, which for some reason would have Kevin Nash, R-Truth, and The Miz thrown in, before Punk himself would capture “the big one” once again at Survivor Series and go on a 434 day title run. That run  would end at the hands of a part-time performer in The Rock at the 2013 Royal Rumble.

 

The next twelve months would see the self-proclaimed ‘Best In The World’ fed to The Undertaker, take a sabbatical, feud with Paul Heyman, and eventually walk out on the company prior to the Raw after the 2014 Royal Rumble, and not be seen in a WWE ring for another nine years.

 

9. Brock lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt (Wrestlemania 32) 

 

All indications coming out of the 2016 Royal Rumble were that an inevitable collision between Brock Lesnar and Bray Wyatt was imminent. However, Dean Ambrose heating up in a big way would inadvertently derail these plans. This was during a time when fans were rejecting the push of Roman Reigns, and Ambrose had built incredible momentum after a string of gutsy performances.

 

The WWE did not want to change their plans, but they needed something big for Ambrose to do. Therefore, it was decided that Ambrose would get the match with Lesnar, instead of Bray Wyatt.

 

10. Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker  (Wrestlemania 22) 

 

These two ended up having their classic at No Way Out the month prior, but originally the plan was Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker at Wrestlemania with ANGLE WINNING!

 

Kurt was meant to break the streak. Vince McMahon wanted it to happen and the Undertaker was okay with it happening. However, Kurt being the awesome guy he is, he didn’t want to be the one to end the streak. He felt the streak should have never been broken, so we didn’t get what would have been one of the greatest Wrestlemania  matches of all time.