10 WWE Nightmares That Thankfully Never Came True

The WWE brand was poisonous in 2007 following the Chris Benoit double-murder suicide. So much so, that despite teaser trailers and extensive co-promotion, a planned union with the crew from MTV's Jackass for a contest with Umaga was abruptly binned at the requests of the stunt stars.

Initially, the plan called for the group to cost 'The Samoan Bulldozer' a match at July's Great American Bash pay-per-view, but as the news media rounded on the company in the wake of the Benoit tragedy, Johnny Knoxville elected not to appear at the show, nor at previously discussed television tapings in the aftermath.

The deal between the two parties was allegedly brokered by Shane McMahon and likely co-signed by his father in a typically transparent grasp at mainstream attention, but the damage done to the company's public perception was forcibly felt when a change of plans were suddenly required.

In hindsight, WWE may have actually avoided a worst case scenario. Jackass members Steve-O and Chris Pontius had appeared on a 2006 edition of Monday Night Raw to take a beating from the superlative Samoan, however they somewhat missed the point of the segment. Despite taking an impressive sh*t-kicking, the pair chuckled and smirked their way through the massacre, with Steve-O in particular suffering quite the pasting as a result of his perceived disrespect.

Umaga was a character that constantly walked a credibility tightrope, and the prospect of a full match derailing as this segment did wouldn't have remotely helped his cause.