10 Insane WrestleMania Main Events That Nearly Happened
Deep in the multiverse, somebody squashed a butterfly and these matches headlined WrestleMania.
Are you ready to enter the multiverse of 'Mania?
The history of WWE is filled with famous what if moments. These hypothetical scenarios explore how different decisions, injuries, or unexpected events could have dramatically altered the course of wrestling history. Imagine if "Stone Cold" Steve Austin had never suffered his career-altering neck injury, or if The Rock hadn't chosen to pursue a full-time career in Hollywood. How would the landscape of the business have changed? We'll never know, which is why speculating is so much fun.
With WWE holding a pay-per-view between Royal Rumble and 'Mania, there's a chance to pivot from one plan to another. Sometimes it's agonisingly obvious which direction the company is going on the way to the Showcase of the Immortals, like when Roman Reigns was being forced down our throats in 2015, but Vince McMahon and Triple H have changes lanes on the Road to WrestleMania and switched things up at the last minute too.
You might have to don your tin cap for this one, as the door to the multiverse is opened and main events that WWE were a single moment away from having at WrestleMania in our universe are laid bare with disastrous consequences.
10. Austin Theory Vs. Roman Reigns
Austin main evented the first night of WrestleMania 38, but could another Austin have headlined on the Sunday as well?
Back in the days when Vince McMahon decided that cheeky egg thief Austin Theory was the next big thing, the man who was only promoted to the main roster because of injuries on the Road to WrestleMania a year earlier was suddenly in one of WWE's most famous matches.
Not only was he there, but he was in the last two, with the WWE Championship on the line. The only problem: he was across the ring from Brock Lesnar. He might've had a shot; Lesnar had just won the Royal Rumble match, plus nobody had ever stamped their ticket to 'Mania in January and won the WWE title before the Show of Shows.
The Beast Incarnate made short work of Theory in reality. A brutal F5 from the top of an Elimination Chamber pod and there was no questioning that Theory wouldn't be going to 'Mania to face Roman Reigns. Fans cried out with joy, then quickly realised they were about to see Lesnar-Reigns for the 50th time...