101 Shocking Wrestling Plans You Won't Believe Almost Happened

This just in: Shane McMahon wanted to run NXT TakeOver events long before Triple H. Sort of.

Shane had actually pitched buying the failing ECW brand in 2000 and running it as a precursor to the day when he'd take over from his father as leader of the WWF. That seemingly natural succession plan wouldn't happen, and it's Trips himself who is the single most powerful "McMahon" on top of WWE today.

Some of Shane's thinking was ahead of its time too. He'd long wanted to push a wrestling show online as 'internet only', because he thought it'd be a fun way to experiment with fresh technology. That would've been a far-fetched notion in 2000, but not so much in 2005/2006 when thoughts turned to reviving the hardcore league as a third brand next to Raw and SmackDown.

By then, WWE definitely had the online infrastructure to make online only a possibility. Then, proper TV networks got in touch and said they'd fancy running the ECW revival. Suddenly, with money to be made from key station contracts, WWE ditched the internet show vibe Shane-O had been working on.

'ECW Online' could've been a brilliant pilot for things to come with the WWE Network, but the wrestling world would have to wait a while longer for streaming to become the norm. Not many reading this would've had strong enough connections to make that a viable pursuit at the turn of the millennium anyway.

Do you like your hardcore wrestling on a 56k modem? Nothing says revolution like dial-up.