10 Iconic Wrestling Moments That Weren't Meant To Happen
1. The WrestleMania XXX Main Event
WrestleMania XXX's original main event, as virtually confirmed at the climax of the 2014 Royal Rumble, would have seen Batista capture the unified WWE World Heavyweight title away from Batista, who hopefully would have caught his breath by that point. Daniel Bryan, WWE's good little hand, was set to go over Sheamus in a belated apology of a 15 minute-max midcard attraction. Triple H, with whom Bryan had feuded throughout 2013, was set to rumble with CM Punk - perhaps with one eye cast enviously and cynically toward the man's excellent big match form against the Undertaker and Brock Lesnar.
This didn't happen; the 'WWE Universe' "used their voice," as the magnanimous, receptive Stephanie McMahon would have it. Nope; CM Punk, worn out and unappreciated, split. Triple H was without an opponent, and Bryan, now more than ever, represented the idealised headliner for a generation bored to tears with the OVW Class of 2002.
The main event triple threat match acted as yet another felix culpa for Bryan; the sight of Randy Orton and Batista, two entitled behemoths to whom so many opportunities had been handed throughout the years, was the perfect visual metaphor for the unfair odds stacked so highly against him. The match, and its limb-selling masterclass of a prologue, could not have been better calibrated to yield the most investment possible.
The epilogue was depressing in the extreme - but the Choose Your Own Adventure story was as emotional and cathartic as pro wrestling gets.