7 Most Infuriating Last Minute WWE PPV Changes

7. The Big Show Replaces Steve Austin - Survivor Series 1999

Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Triple H were the three biggest stars of WWE's Attitude Era, and the first-ever Triple Threat match between the trio was WrestleMania-worthy. Sadly, it never happened.

Onscreen, Austin was run over by a car at the hands of a mystery assailant. In reality, his injuries - particularly, issues with his neck - had caught up to him; he needed to take several months off to recuperate from surgery.

The WWF knew about this a week in advance, but in a cynical and misleading push to maintain PPV buys, withheld the truth from the paying audience and ran (no pun intended) the hit and run angle on the night as a storyline explanation for his absence.

His replacement was The Big Show, who was a monumental disappointment in the months following his WWF debut as "Big Nasty" Paul Wight. The Triple Threat match was the typical interference-laden Attitude Era-style main event, which made it passable enough, but WWF fans were consciously and unfairly conditioned to expect a classic.

Astonishingly, despite being a unanimously unpopular substitution, Show was booked to win the title, which he defended against Big Boss Man at Rock Bottom in one of the worst PPV championship matches ever. It lasted just 3:11.

The decision was so bad that it had a karmic effect on future storylines. Rikishi was latterly and infamously unveiled as the man behind the wheel, despite engaging in comedy dance routines on WWF television at the time. His heel run would torpedo his promising career, which took years to launch.