10 Late Replacements Who Won Big In WWE
The Ultimate Opportunists.
For reasons only known to the ever-confusing WWE writers who, to be fair were most likely as blind-sided with the decision as the the rest of us by Vince McMahon, Sami Zayn snuck his way into the Money in The Bank ladder match less than a week out in place of Braun Strowman.
Only to be replaced by a returning Brock Lesnar on the night.
Zayn and Strowman can complain until the cows come home about missing their shot, but we’re here to talk about the beneficiary of their misfortune, and the wrestlers before them who turned last minute gifts into glorious victory.
These fortuitous men and women have come out of left field, the nosebleeds... or usually just the backstage area - and absolutely made the most of it at the expense of someone else.
It should be made clear that this is all about late replacements, not late additions. Someone needs to have been kicked to the curb for these wrestlers to pinch their achievements, so sorry Daniel Bryan, but your WrestleMania XXX fairytale isn’t on the cards today.
10. Zack Ryder
What: Intercontinental Championship, WrestleMania 32
Replaced: Neville
Oh Zack Ryder… poor, harmless, lovable Zack Ryder.
'The Long Island Iced Z' has had one of the more bizarre career trajectories in WWE over the past decade and a half. From a shock tag team championship win with Curt Hawkins in 2008 to… well, a shock tag team championship win with Curt Hawkins in 2019.
All the moments in between are full of ups and downs (mostly the latter), but there is one that will always stand out in history: His single Intercontinental Championship win at WrestleMania 32.
'The Internet Champion' was a surprise addition for the seven-man ladder match on the penultimate episode of Raw. It didn’t take long before The Wrestling Observer confirmed him not as a genuine selection by management, but a replacement for the injured Neville, who fractured his ankle just one week earlier against Chris Jericho.
Not only would Ryder be a shocking entrant in the match, he was an even more shocking winner, removing The Miz from atop the ladder to claim the gold and his career-defining moment.
Unfortunately for him, as quickly as he could take a photo with childhood hero Razor Ramon backstage, the belt was gone again, losing the championship the very next night on Raw to The Miz.