10 Times WWE Creative Changed A Match On The Fly

The storylines often span years and are calculated for a long time in WWE these days. This might not be true anymore, gauging by the WrestleMania 41 build. 

It certainly wasn't true just a few years ago. 

A position in a pro wrestling creative team is not a job for the faint-hearted, as even the most innovative writer in the world would find it hard to work in such an environment due to the unpredictable nature of the business. The meetings feel like a war zone, with each writer coming up with different ideas while the man in charge throws a tantrum by suggesting last-minute changes, if not ripping up the entire script.

The WWE creative team is a prime example of such scenarios, be it in the present regime or under the past leadership of Vince McMahon. From creative differences to backstage politics, injuries, and other unforeseen circumstances, WWE scripts undergoing last-minute changes are occurrences that have happened far too many times over the years. These changes can make and break careers, and have led WWE to make iconic and controversial decisions in the past.

These ten instances would prove how the creative teams handled such pressure backstage, how these changes significantly impacted the plans the company had envisioned for future events, and how they changed the career trajectories of the wrestlers involved.

It has been an age-old tradition in WWE for the giants to lose steam once they pass their early destructive phase, and The Big Show wasn't any different. Following his second WWE title reign in 2002, The World's Largest Athlete got relegated to being an attraction, and WWE never considered him for another World title run until 2011. No, the ECW title reign doesn't count!

He entered a rivalry with Mark Henry over the World Heavyweight Championship, and had two unsuccessful attempts at Vengeance and Survivor Series 2011. The two behemoths locked horns again in a Chairs Match at TLC 2011, and Big Show finally defeated the World's Strongest Man to win the title. But things didn't end there; Daniel Bryan cashed in his MITB contract to end Big Show's title reign as soon as it began.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Vince McMahon had originally planned to put the title on Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 28 or Elimination Chamber - but he changed his mind and decided to have Bryan cash in on Big Show at TLC 2011. Since McMahon didn't make the call until a few hours before the PPV and Bryan wasn't booked for the event, WWE had to rush the latter in from an autograph signing at a nearby city and went ahead with the cash-in.