10 Shocking Royal Rumble Plans WWE Originally Had

1. Heel Stone Cold (2000)

Triple H vs. Cactus Jack at the 2000 Rumble was a tour de force.

Their 'Street Fight' was blood-soaked, drama-filled and one of the best brawls of the era. It's somehow scary then to think that Mick Foley's title shot would've gone to Steve Austin had he not been benched by serious neck woes a few months earlier.

The Wrestling Observer printed news in late-1999 that tentative WrestleMania 2000 plans called for a heel Austin to drop the WWF Title to a babyface Rock. That, it was hoped, would've launched Rocky to the forefront of the promotion and made him 'the guy'. In order to get there, Austin had to best Triple H at the Rumble first.

None of this would come to pass due to Austin's neck surgery. He spent the bulk of 2000 on the shelf before returning as a babyface, and Foley got the nod to face mega-heel Trips at the Rumble; Triple H's upwards trajectory could've been seriously stymied had Austin been around to take the top villain slot that'd eventually belong to him.

What other shocking original plans do you know of from past Royal Rumbles? For more WWE, check out 10 Wrestling Matches That Led To Massive Lawsuits and 10 Things We Learned From Kane On Stone Cold's Broken Skull Sessions Podcast!