10 Fascinating WWE WrestleMania 18 Facts
7. The Originally-Planned Main Event Was Stone Cold Vs. Triple H
Former WWE writer Seth Mates recalls that the original plan called for a still-heel Austin to hold the gold into WrestleMania season, where Royal Rumble winner Triple H would be matched up with him. The story makes perfect sense, as Austin could have blamed Triple H's quad tear on costing "The Two Man Power Trip" the Tag Team gold in May 2001. A regenerated "Game" would have come back for revenge, and plenty of back-logged story.
So what happened? Austin finally had enough of his underwhelming heel run in late-2001, and insisted on being turned babyface once more. Austin's increasing unhappiness was a theme of the time, and had far greater implications than many realized at that point.