10 MORE Huge "What If" Scenarios In WWE History
No Curtain Call, no Stone Cold...
Creating memorable moments is the sole purpose of WWE storytelling.
As per Vince McMahon himself in the seminal 1999 documentary Beyond The Mat, "we make movies," not traditional wrestling shows. Having spent a lifetime trying to distance his company from the sport that built his fortune, the Chairman doesn't want his fans talking about their favourite matches, feuds, or storylines, but moments, and WWE's entire storytelling framework is designed with this in mind.
WWE history is unquestionably defined by the company's most iconic set pieces. Things like the Montreal Screwjob, Hogan slamming Andre, and Mankind falling through Hell In A Cell are what hold everything together, and the wrestling landscape would look completely different had these moments not panned out the way they did.
McMahon's promotion became an indestructible industry-dominating giant as a direct consequence of these happenings, but WWE's story, just like any other organisations, is full of "what if?" scenarios. The smallest of alterations can set forth a dramatic chain reaction, completely changing the course of history, leaving the promotion operating under an entirely different set of circumstances.
It's all hypothetical, of course, but let's examine the potential consequences.
10. What If Brock Lesnar Didn't Leave In 2004?
They made up for it earlier this year, but Brock Lesnar and Goldberg's WrestleMania XX clash was a complete disaster.
Their respective WWE runs ended on the sourest of notes. The crowd knew both were on their way out of the company, and responded accordingly, jeering every moment of what turned out to be a staredown-heavy big stage dud. Lesnar and Goldberg were gone, and nobody was sad to see them go.
Deciding to leave WWE had a huge, transformational impact on Lesnar's career, as there's a strong chance he wouldn't have tried MMA without it. Entering the sport in 2007, he was UFC Heavyweight Champion by November '08, becoming the biggest draw in the promotion's pre-Conor McGregor history. Lesnar's fame and success transcended wrestling. Now, he was a legitimate dual-sport megastar, giving him a huge bargaining chip when WWE came calling again in 2012.
Brock had already lost a great deal of steam prior to his WWE departure. Had he stuck around, there's a strong chance the company would've burned audiences out on him entirely, preventing his current 'special attraction' status. Furthermore, there's even the chance they'd have never elevated John Cena, and promoted Lesnar as their franchise player instead, creating a vastly different main event landscape.