10 Biggest "What If" Moments In WWE SummerSlam History

1. What If Chyna Became WWF Champion? - 1999

Chyna Stone Cold Steve Austin
WWE

It would difficult to compile every single bizarre booking suggestion that's since emerged anecdotally from WWE' in 1999, but ranking somewhere near the top was the idea to have Chyna dethrone Stone Cold Steve Austin at that year's SummerSlam.

She'd been the first woman in the Royal Rumble, she'd been the first woman in King of the Ring, and riding a wave of popularity that summer, she was crowned number 1 contender to the WWE Championship with the company almost entirely set on following through with it. Austin, teetering on the verge of being the industry's biggest star, was proving difficult to work with and creative wanted to show him who was boss. Won't job for any of the boys, eh? Well, let's see how you feel about a woman instead.

While the ramifications for Chyna would have been incredibly positive, Austin's career would have panned out drastically different. Likely carrying a major chip on his shoulder for the remainder of his time in the company, the strained relationship with Vince would have kept him out of the spotlight, and his upcoming break for neck surgery would have seen his return a far-more understated affair.

Plus, this was WWF in the Attitude Era, nobody would have ever let him live it down that he dropped the richest prize in the game to "a woman".

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Managing Editor

WhatCulture's Managing Editor and Chief Reporter | Previously seen in Vice, Esquire, FourFourTwo, Sabotage Times, Loaded, The Set Pieces, and Mundial Magazine