One MIND-BLOWING Secret From EVERY WWE WrestleMania

20. WrestleMania 22 | Vince’s Dream Card Looked VERY Different

Batista went down with injury in January, which scuppered the original card Vince McMahon dreamed up when he thought anything was possible. 

This was before he was reminded, on an annual basis, that superstars who did not necessarily need to wrestle for him were very difficult to negotiate with. When he was reminded of this, and his ego was bruised, Vince spent the late spring months taking it out on Rey Mysterio. 

According to the January 16 Observer, this is what Vince had in mind for Chicago:

- Triple H Vs. John Cena, which actually happened of course.Randy Orton Vs. Batista, which was abandoned on the grandest stage twice in what turned out to be a sensible idea, going by Armageddon 2008.

- Mr. McMahon Vs. Bret Hart (which would have been equally bleak four years before it actually happened).

- Alternatively, Mr. McMahon Vs. Shawn Michaels with Bret Hart acting as special guest referee, a significantly better idea with which to fictionalise the McMahon Vs. Bret feud.

- The small matter of Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Hulk Hogan, which didn’t happen at WrestleMania 18 because a very prescient Austin was wary of Hogan turning babyface on him. This was halfway viable in 2006. Hogan was willing to do a lot of things, even if losing wasn’t one of them, in the mid-2000s. Vince and Hogan performed a strange dance each year, in which they’d fall out before inevitably working together before inevitably falling out. Austin was a far more difficult negotiator, although infrequent and informal discussions did take place. Austin, while banged up, did not suffer an injury that wholly prevented him from wrestling ever again. It would have taken a lot of graft to get himself ring-ready, and he was fiercely protective over his legacy and the myth of Stone Cold.