8 Planned WWE WrestleMania 33 Matches That Fell Apart

4. AJ Styles Vs. Shawn Michaels

john cena samoa joe
WWE

Many fans of AJ Styles - WWE's undisputed MVP of 2016 - are disappointed that he'll be taking on Shane McMahon at WrestleMania. With the right opponent, Styles could easily deliver another classic - but with Shane McMahon, he'll be lucky to escape without breaking his nose.

Originally, though, WWE had a better plan for Styles - even if it was completely implausible. The company approached Shawn Michaels about coming out of retirement to take on "The Phenomenal One" at the show of shows. If Michaels could still perform at the level he did back during his active career, that bout would have been an unquestioned success.

Michaels - who lost a retirement match to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26 and hasn't competed since - turned down the offer, of course. He's been committed to his retirement. As for Styles, though, the company's backup plan very clearly leaves something to be desired.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013