10 SummerSlam Matches That Almost Happened
Missed opportunities, dodged bullets and Justin f'n Bieber.
Wake up people, SummerSlam is here! Well, SummerSlam is almost here, but I'm going to jump the gun and say SummerSlam is here! One of my 12 favourite WWE big events of the year, SummerSlam often feels like what WrestleMania would be like without the pomp and circumstance, the WrestleMania for fans of wrestling who don't particularly want to sit through 25 minutes of Kid Rock and that Uncle Kracker fool.
SummerSlam can also be a time of experimentation, where WWE tries out new stars and strange stories to test the waters before pulling out of the driveway and starting out on the road to WrestleMania. Look at 2016 for example; plucky upstart Dolph Ziggler is in the match of his life against WWE Champion Dean Ambrose.
But much like romance, sometimes life gets in the way, and plans that are set in stone for SummerSlam find themselves blown to smithereens. Whether it is injury, the advice of neurologists, or big guy syndrome, things happen that cause plans to change and cards to be rearranged.
So here are 10 SummerSlam matches that almost happened, but didn't. A number of bouts didn't quite make the cut, including Goldberg vs. The Rock in 2003 and Kevin Nash vs. Triple H in 2002, because nobody should be writing about Kevin Nash in 2016.
10. Bret Hart Vs. Hulk Hogan - 1993
Hey, remember WrestleMania IX? Okay, I know most have tried to block it from their memory, but come on, get into your brain and drag that miserable 'Mania from its cobweb-infested resting place. Remember the end, when qualified optometrist Hulk Hogan came out to attend to Bret Hart's injured eyes, only to coincidentally get a WWF Championship shot against Yokozuna? Hogan won of course, and the eyes of the wrestling world rolled so far back into its collective head that not even optician Hogan could help.
Well, the reason behind Hogan's thunder stealing at WMIX was the promise of a huge match between Hogan and Hart at SummerSlam 1993. It made sense, heck, it still makes sense now. Hogan was going away to embark on a hugely successful movie career, and Bret Hart was quite clearly the face of the company in waiting. Hogan puts over Hart, everyone wins.
Except Hogan wasn't willing to lose to a guy smaller than him. He dropped the belt to the considerably larger Yokozuna, who would go on to feud with Lex Luger at the Biggest Party of the Summer. Vince really liked bodybuilders, you know.