8 Planned WWE WrestleMania 33 Matches That Fell Apart
The best-laid plans...
This year's WrestleMania card is set. On Sunday, the grandest event of the entire year will take place, and all of the company's top stars will be in action - from Roman Reigns to John Cena to Brock Lesnar to The Undertaker and even Bill Goldberg, all the players fans expect for the show of shows will be in action.
That doesn't mean that they'll all be in their originally intended roles, though. Just like in other years, WWE came up with several ideas for WrestleMania many months in advance, and while some of them ultimately made the final card, most of them did not.
This list looks at those original ideas, matches for WrestleMania 33 that were supposed to happen at one point or another but ended up off the docket. Unlike with WrestleMania 32, most of these matches weren't cancelled due to injuries or unavailability - it was just a case of ideas shifting.
Was it for the better? Or would some of these matches have made WrestleMania 33 into a far better show than what we'll ultimately be getting? In the end, fans will have to see the show and decide for themselves. In the meantime, here are 8 planned WrestleMania 33 matches that fell apart:
8. Brock Lesnar Vs. Shane McMahon
Fans may be upset that Goldberg crushed Kevin Owens to win the Universal Title, but they owe the former WCW Champion some gratitude - after all, if he didn't return to the ring, Brock Lesnar may very well be wrestling Shane McMahon at WrestleMania.
The Brock-Shane program got its one and only tease at SummerSlam. After Lesnar subjected Randy Orton to a very real, very violent pummeling (and subsequent concussion), Shane got into the ring in order to protect the health of his employee. Lesnar, in full berzerker mode, planted the Smackdown commissioner with an F5. McMahons, of course, never take an affront lying down.
Of course, when WWE struck a deal for Goldberg to work a multi-match program leading into WrestleMania, plans to have him lose to Lesnar at Survivor Series were changed. Instead, Goldberg would get the duke in that contest, then return the favor at 'Mania. That - plus the fact that Lesnar was reportedly vocal about not wanting to work with Shane - cancelled what would have likely been little more than a vanity project.