10 Unbelievable WrestleMania Matches That Almost Happened

In 2005, WWE was beginning to transition towards a new crop of stars, with the ascension of both Batista and John Cena. However, in a year where WrestleMania went "Hollywood", one notable star was absent for that very same reason.

Having appeared a handful of times throughout 2004, The Rock last competed in a WWE ring at WrestleMania XX, teaming with Mick Foley against Evolution. Prior to that, it was Backlash '03 against Goldberg. Point being, when The Rock laced up the boots, it's a big deal. Which makes the proposed WrestleMania 21 pairing for 'The Great One' all the more odd.

After The Rock's original idea of wrestling Sting was dismissed when WWE failed to acquire the WCW icon, the attention soon turned to reigning WWE Champion, JBL. The Rock would challenge the big Texan for the title, win the gold and drop it back to him shortly after, with 'The People's Champ' disappearing back into movies until the next WrestleMania.

Incredibly, The Rock's WWE contract was left to quietly expire without so much as a phone call at the close of 2004. As such, The Rock wasn't contractually obliged to do anything and that fact proved costly. Ultimately, WWE's biggest export to Hollywood was conspicuously absent when WrestleMania hit Tinseltown and he wouldn't appear in a WWE ring again until 2011.