10 Unbelievable WrestleMania Matches That Almost Happened
5. Brock Lesnar Vs. Chris Benoit - WrestleMania XIX
Anyone familiar with Kurt Angle's career knows that he won an Olympic gold medal with a broken [freakin'] neck. Those same neck issues reared their ugly head once more at No Way Out 2003.
Suffering from a litany of spine-related issues, Angle's participation in the WrestleMania main event against Brock Lesnar was in severe doubt. So much so that a back-up plan was created that allowed the show to go ahead without the 'Olympic Hero'.
On 6 March, Lesnar won the right to challenge Angle for the WWE Title early by destroying Paul Heyman in a Steel Cage. According to Angle, the plans then called for him to quickly drop the title to Lesnar the following week on SmackDown, before leaving for surgery. Meanwhile, Chris Benoit would become number one contender, having narrowly lost out to Angle at the Royal Rumble, and challenge Lesnar for the championship at WrestleMania XIX.
However, just days before he was scheduled to lose the WWE Title on SmackDown, Angle had a run in with a neighbour's child who suffered from Down syndrome. The child told Angle how excited he was to see him compete at 'Mania and that encounter was enough to change history.
The surgery was postponed, Angle/Brock was back on for 'Mania, and the WWE Title defence on SmackDown was brilliantly worked into the storyline.