10 Times WWE Screwed Wrestlers Out Of Huge Matches

3. Jeff Hardy – Survivor Series 2008

Jeff Hardy was the high-flying sensation in late 2008, with his popularity soaring and WWE promising a major title moment for months. Heading into Survivor Series, Hardy was booked in a triple threat WWE Championship match against Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov, and fans were ready to see him win the title.

Then, just hours before the event, WWE dropped a bombshell: a breaking news segment announced that Hardy had been found unconscious in a hotel stairwell, and he was pulled from the match. This sudden, manipulative, twist rubbed salt in the wounds of those aware of Hardy’s troubled past and his well-documented wellness policy issues. WWE played up the mystery, hinting at something all too believable, and the show went ahead without him.

The truth was far less dramatic: Hardy wasn’t injured. Instead, vague backstage “concerns” became the excuse to sideline him. Although Hardy won the title later that month, this last-minute bait-and-switch left a sour taste. WWE advertised him up until the show before yanking him out of a match fans were excited to see.

One of WWE's most disgusting promotional tactics.