7 Last-Minute WWE PPV Replacements That Rocked 

1. SummerSlam 1988 – Ultimate Warrior

Kurt Angle WWE
WWE

Perhaps the biggest and most well-known late substitution came when WWF/E PPVs were in their infancy.

Back in 1988, there was only WrestleMania and Survivor Series. The Big Four wasn’t even formed yet. So at the inaugural SummerSlam that year, Intercontinental Champion Honky Tonk Man was awaiting his opponent, who originally was supposed to be Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake.

By now, you know the rest: Honky called for his opponent to get out to ringside, but then the Ultimate Warrior emerged, running over HTM and dethroning him as champ in a matter of seconds. So while this last-minute opening was planned, making his win part of a bigger storyline, it still was a major moment early in the WWF’s PPV history.

That’s our list. What other examples can you recall to add to this list?

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.