10 WWE Wishes (That Will Never Come True)

Professional wrestling is a dream factory, where improbable things come true.

Men survive terrifying plunges from cages, women go from obscurity to world-beating popularity, and Undertakers, demons, and Fiends compete for title belts. In the WWE, anything can happen.

Only, a lot of the time, it doesn’t. Every wrestling fan has their own wish list, be that dream matches they’d kill to see or booking directions they crave for their favourite stars. Sometimes these come true - The Man, Kofimania, The Yes Movement - but often, they don’t, no matter how many fans online and beyond clamour.

Now, we’re not talking about your Owen Hart vs Kurt Angle dream matches here - this list comprises angles and matches that could, within the realms of reality, actually take place. But for whatever reason (practicality, timing, inflexibility on the part of Vince et al), we can say confidently they won’t.

WWE wishes can come true, and they’re not always great (we’re looking at you, Nakamura vs Styles). All the same, it’s nothing short of heartbreaking to think of the sheer possibility WWE has in its hands that will never bear fruit...

The road from NXT to the main roster is a rocky one, with many surefire prospects underutilised on Raw and Smackdown. With the upcoming NXT shakeup, many black and gold stalwarts must be thinking about their next move. One wrestler who’d surely have a place in the big leagues is Tommaso Ciampa.

That’s never going to happen, and for once, it’s due to the performer’s own principles rather than company mismanagement. Ciampa has a history of neck injuries, and while by no means in advanced years, has been around the block a few times. He has explicitly said that, due to the workload, he’d sooner retire than join the main roster.

That’s completely understandable - he’s a family man and sensibly health-conscious - but no less a shame. While he’s not the tallest of superstars, Ciampa is stacked, intense, feels like a proper character, and comes with a ready-made angle courtesy of his online beef with Randy Orton.

We’d never suggest that Ciampa should do anything other than what’s best for him and his, but of all the NXT veterans, few seem so well poised for a big push (which probably means Vince et al would ruin him all the sooner).