WWE Originally Planned Ryback vs The Ultimate Warrior For WrestleMania XXX
A match we'll never see was tentatively on the card...
According to comments made by Ryback during the ex-WWE star's Conversations With The Big Guy podcast, he was originally supposed to wrestle none other than The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania XXX in 2014.
WWE staff member Mark Carrano showed Ryback a tentative card for the pay-per-view during early discussions, revealing that he was pencilled in against Warrior for the show. That's not the only surprise though, because Ryback wasn't exactly thrilled by the prospect of facing such a huge name.
Knowing he'd probably have to lose to Warrior given the circumstances (Warrior had just been inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame and this would likely be his final match in the promotion), Ryback also didn't feel he was the right choice to work with the legend.
As a heel, he wanted to gain momentum in 2014 and stay near the top of the card. Losing to Warrior, albeit in a match people would talk about for years, didn't seem as appealing as doing something else on the show.
Ryback (along with then-partner Curtis Axel) instead worked a throwaway Fatal-4-Way tag-team match on the 'Mania pre-show.