Jay-Z at WrestleMania would've been huge!
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00:00They say anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation, and by extension, anything
00:04can also not happen.
00:06This particular Wrestlemania-flavoured video will look at prospective plans that got changed
00:10along the long and bumpy road to the grandest stage of them all.
00:13I'm Si for WhatCulture.com and these are 10 Amazing Wrestlemania Pitches That Never
00:18Happened.
00:1910.
00:20The Miz vs. The Ultimate Warrior – WrestleMania 28 or 29
00:23There's something special about our favourite wrestlers coming back after a long time away.
00:28More than that, it's even better when a current day star gets to get into the ring
00:31with someone they grew up watching.
00:33The Miz's favourite wrestler as a kid was the brightly coloured purveyor of intense
00:37promos himself, The Ultimate Warrior.
00:39Recently, the A-lister revealed on his TikTok account that he had pushed for a dream scenario
00:43backstage that would have put him in direct contact with his hero.
00:47The idea played into the character's desire to be recognised as the greatest intercontinental
00:51champion of all time by going over several previous title holders.
00:54Miz pitched a gauntlet lumberjack match where he would face five previous champions one
00:58by one and overcome all odds, only for a sixth secret competitor to be revealed.
01:03It's hard not to imagine how huge the reaction to The Ultimate Warrior's music hitting
01:07at Wrestlemania would be as he stormed down to the ring to hit Miz with three clotheslines
01:12and a splash.
01:13Which Wrestlemania Miz is referring to is hard to place, however this idea never came
01:16to fruition and never will with Warrior's passing in 2014.
01:209.
01:21Nexus Reunion – WrestleMania 36 and 37 It's largely agreed by WWE fans that the
01:27Nexus is one of the most mishandled stables and storylines of all time.
01:31The potential of this anti-establishment group of young upstarts is still talked about even
01:3613 years after Cena buried them.
01:39However, according to the former Darren Young, the Nexus were apparently pencilled in for
01:42WrestleMania 36.
01:44Because the show was moved to WWE's performance centre amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the segment
01:49was cut.
01:50The show's spokesman reportedly didn't want to do the angle without a crowd.
01:54Getting the Nexus back together would have surely meant coming to an agreement with a
01:56lot of previously released talents, whether that was for one night only or a longer run.
02:01Former leader Wade Barrett interestingly did return to the WWE later the same year to take
02:06up a commentary position in NXT.
02:08This wasn't the last time Young teased a reunion as the following year he outright
02:11said in a February 2021 appearance on the Dropkick Podcast that Wade Barrett was going
02:16to stand up from the commentary table, command Nexus down to the ring to defeat Retribution.
02:20Well, that didn't happen either, so maybe Young's confidence in WWE taking his ideas
02:25seriously are a little misplaced.
02:278.
02:28Chris Jericho vs Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship, WrestleMania 33
02:33The Universal Championship match at WrestleMania 33 between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg was a
02:38simple brutal beatdown.
02:39Frankly, it over-delivered considering that very few people were interested in it, especially
02:44because of what it seemed like WWE had originally been heading towards.
02:48The year's biggest story was the friendship of Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens and its heart-breaking
02:52dissolution.
02:53With months of the pair getting over as self-serving heels, Owens turning on Jericho set them up
02:58for one hell of a grudge match.
03:00After all, Owens had been given the Universal Championship to hold and perhaps whilst it
03:04wasn't WWE's intentions, a great thing had fallen into their lap.
03:08Infamously, instead the pair fought over the much lesser United States title in the second
03:13match of the night.
03:14On Busted Open Radio in 2019, Jericho expressed his frustration saying,
03:19To be on second with this angle that we had when it was designated at first, I was told
03:23by Vince, you're going to win the world title from Kevin Owens in the main event of
03:26WrestleMania.
03:27Three days later he changed it to Brock vs Goldberg and didn't tell me.
03:31Additionally, Vince apparently told Jericho that it was the worst match in WrestleMania
03:35history, which is a clear exaggeration.
03:37For example, the absolute malaise of Undertaker vs Roman Reigns was on the very same night,
03:42so how does that work?
03:447.
03:45Beth Phoenix vs Karma – WrestleMania 28
03:47In 2012, the WWE's women's division was in a sorry state.
03:51Beth Phoenix had been Diva's Champion for nearly 200 days, was head and shoulders above
03:56her colleagues and desperately needed a good WrestleMania opponent.
03:59On an episode of his show Wrestling with Freddy, actor and former WWE writer Freddie Prince
04:04Jr revealed that Stephanie McMahon had asked him to work on a very specific storyline around
04:08this time.
04:10At this point, Karma had returned to the WWE, and to make her reappearance even more shocking,
04:14she did so by entering the Men's Royal Rumble match.
04:17She was only the third woman to ever do so, alongside Chyna and Beth Phoenix.
04:22The story from here was to have Karma rip through the division and destroy the recently
04:26signed TNA Knockouts Champion Gail Kim in seven minutes.
04:30By the sounds of things, Natalya would have hit the ring and also lost to the former Awesome
04:34Kong.
04:35Next, Beth Phoenix would face off with her to set up the match at WrestleMania 28.
04:39However, despite Karma signing a deal with WWE, this Royal Rumble appearance would be
04:44her one and only showing of the year.
04:46That summer, she was released.
04:486.
04:49Mysterio vs Andrade in a Mask vs Hair Match – WrestleMania 36
04:54Dealing with a pandemic is bad enough, but even beyond that, WrestleMania 36 was kind
04:58of a booking disaster.
05:00From a fan perspective, reports came out every day about potential changes to the card.
05:05In January 2020, Rey Mysterio and Andrade Cien Almas clashed several times on Monday
05:10Night Raw.
05:11Their chemistry, both being luchador savants, was spot on, and it was great to see two men
05:15of differing generations mixing it up like this.
05:18Mysterio's years in the business likely meant knowledge for Andrade to soak up, and
05:22it seemed that getting in the ring with this young talent lit a fire under Rey.
05:25Speaking to TV Insider, the former world champion said he was willing to put his pride on the
05:29line in a mask vs hair match.
05:32The feud had certainly seen Andrade trying to unmask Mysterio, and Cien's pride in
05:36his image made the whole thing just make so much sense.
05:40Early reports for Mania did say that the two might meet again to square up for the United
05:44States title, but there was no mention of this unique stipulation.
05:48Even so, Mysterio was reportedly told to quarantine, and even then beyond that, Andrade was pulled
05:53from the show due to injury.
05:555.
05:56Sting vs Kurt Angle – WrestleMania 18 When WWE bought out their competition WCW,
06:02it meant a whole new host of stars to put together for upcoming events.
06:05Suffice to say that WrestleMania 18's card jam-packed with dream matches composed of
06:09main eventers from both companies.
06:12Rock vs Hogan, Austin vs Hall, Edge vs Booker T, and then randomly plonked in the middle
06:17is Kurt Angle going over Kane for some reason.
06:20Plans for Kurt Angle were originally much grander because WWE thought they'd found
06:24an incredible opponent for the Olympic gold medalist and didn't formulate a backup plan.
06:28In their eyes, Sting, one of the WCW stars who had originally refused to sign, was bound
06:33for Connecticut.
06:35This was a tad overconfident considering that Sting hadn't been quiet about his disinterest
06:39in working for the company.
06:40The icon revealed in 2003 that he had had some serious contract negotiations with the
06:45company, but that he was wary of the schedule and WWE's increasingly more racy television
06:50products.
06:51In the end, he passed and instead went on to TNA in 2003.
06:55Kurt Angle would follow suit, and this match would happen several times outside of WWE
06:59and WrestleMania.
07:004.
07:01Cena vs Orton, Barrett vs Undertaker, WrestleMania 27
07:06One of John Cena's greatest rivals is most certainly Randy Orton, to the point where
07:10fans started to get sick of the two competing against each other over the years.
07:14That being said, despite the numerous pay-per-view bouts they had, the pair never faced off at
07:19WrestleMania.
07:20Of course, it was thrown around for at least one event, that being WrestleMania 28.
07:24At the show, Cena and Miz famously fought over the WWE title.
07:28However, in the months leading up to it, Cena was involved with Orton's feud with Barrett,
07:32so it's possible to see the path to that point.
07:35Speaking of Barrett, perhaps most importantly, he was gearing up for a showdown with The
07:39Undertaker at that year's show of shows.
07:41Again, the evidence is there.
07:43Barrett's Nexus had assisted Kane in burying The Undertaker at Bragging Rights 2010, but
07:48this never really came around to a satisfying conclusion.
07:51Simply because, as they say, plans changed.
07:54Despite coming in red hot, Barrett had lost momentum due to being forced to lose to established
07:59stars like Cena and Orton.
08:01Meanwhile, Vince McMahon was apparently interested in continuing the chronicles of Michaels and
08:05The Undertaker for the third year running.
08:08And Barrett was beaten in a comedy tag match.
08:10Joy.
08:113.
08:12Shayna Baszler beats Becky Lynch, WrestleMania 36
08:16After firmly establishing herself as the best NXT Women's Champion of all time, Shayna
08:20Baszler burst onto Raw with great aplomb.
08:23Sure, biting Becky Lynch on the back of the neck was perhaps a little bit weird, but the
08:26Queen of Spades destroying every opponent at Elimination Chamber meant that she was
08:30getting the super push she deserved.
08:33And then she lost in her title match at WrestleMania 36, which was not originally meant to happen.
08:38Like the alleged Nexus reunion, McMahon got cold feet on this due to the lack of a crowd
08:42and planned to return to it later.
08:45The problem is, this decision is contingent on Vince's entirely unreliable ability to
08:49book long-term.
08:50First, Baszler would need to claw her way back from such a loss, and then be kept strong
08:55until such a time that they could return to this moment and pay it off.
08:58If Baszler had beaten Lynch, then the women's division would be a different place.
09:02The Queen of Spades time in NXT was one of total dominance, and it seemed that WWE was
09:06gearing up for the same thing on the main roster until they bottled it.
09:102.
09:11John Cena and Jay-Z's Rap Battle, WrestleMania 19
09:15John Cena's first match on the grandest stage of them all was at WrestleMania 20, beating
09:19Big Show for the US title, before finding his comfortable spot in the main events the
09:23very next year.
09:24However, Cena's first WrestleMania appearance was originally something else entirely.
09:29By the time of WrestleMania 19 rolling around, Cena's Doctor of Thuganomics rapping gimmick
09:34was well and truly over.
09:35WWE wanted to turn this into a draw in itself, and it made sense to use this as a spot to
09:40bring a megastar onto the show.
09:42The idea was for Cena to have a rap battle with Grammy-winning icon Jay-Z, with Fabolous
09:47also in Jay's corner.
09:49However, things didn't wind up going ahead due to a clash of commitments just weeks beforehand.
09:54The idea got far enough along that Cena had no other plans to pivot to.
09:58Instead, The Doctor went ahead with the battle rap on a segment filmed before Sunday Night
10:02Heat against cardboard cutouts of his previously planned opponents.
10:06If Jay-Z had made the show, it would have been one of the biggest celebrity gets in
10:09WrestleMania history.
10:111.
10:12Eddie Guerrero vs Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 22
10:16In November 2022, Kurt Bauer, current owner of MLW and most importantly, former WWE writer,
10:23sat down with the Insider's Podcast to drop a few knowledge bombs.
10:26Bauer talked specifically at length about the build for WrestleMania 22, which according
10:30to him was originally set to see the clash of Bret Hart vs Vince McMahon.
10:35With Hart going into the Hall of Fame that year, although notably missing his moment
10:38to step out onto the stage at WrestleMania the next night, it's easy to believe.
10:42Clearly, despite all that had happened, he was now on good terms with the WWE.
10:47Obviously, that match did wind up happening, but it did so at WrestleMania 26 instead.
10:52Sadly, the same can't be said for the event's other planned but cancelled headliner.
10:56Bauer recalled the writers' meeting where someone brought up the idea of Shawn Michaels
11:00vs Eddie Guerrero.
11:02Excitement apparently and appropriately spread across the room about it as a technical marvel
11:06between two brilliantly talented Texan performers.
11:09It would be a match that hooked wrestling fans of differing generations, perfect for
11:13the company's marquee event.
11:15Vince was sold and he told his team to put it down in writing.
11:18Sadly, that exact conversation took place the same weekend as Guerrero's unfortunate
11:23passing and thus this WrestleMania pitch and dream match never came to be.
11:27And that's the list!
11:28Let us know what you thought of this video down in the comments below.
11:31Which of these WrestleMania matches and moments would you have loved to see the most?
11:34And of course, let us know of any others that you know about.
11:37Don't forget to like this video, share it with your friends, subscribe and hit that
11:40notification bell.
11:41Head over to whatculture.com for more content every day.
11:44I've been Si for WhatCulture, and have a good week!