4 WWE WrestleMania main events that nearly had different outcomes

Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair will battle it out for the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships in the first women’s main event in WWE WrestleMania history at MetLife Stadium on April 7.

With Rousey expected to take a break from WWE after the event, the lengthy storyline looks all set up to culminate with Lynch overcoming her two biggest rivals to leave WWE’s annual extravaganza with both titles.

However, as the WWE Universe has found out at many WrestleManias in the past, the outcome of high-profile matches at the event are often more unpredictable than at any other pay-per-view.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at four occasions in WrestleMania history where the main event nearly had a different finish.

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#4 Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin (WrestleMania XIV)

Nowadays, Shawn Michaels is a well-respected legend of the wrestling industry who many of today’s up-and-coming Superstars from NXT go to for advice at WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

Back in the 1990s, his in-ring talents were respected but his attitude often let him down. So much so, in fact, that people backstage had genuine concerns before his main event against Steve Austin at WrestleMania IV that HBK would try to sabotage the match.

The plan for the much-anticipated encounter, which featured boxer Mike Tyson as the special outside enforcer, was for Austin to win the World Heavyweight Championship before aligning with Tyson post-match. In the end, HBK stuck to the plan and that is exactly what happened. Had he not done so, however, he would have risked the wrath of The Undertaker when he returned backstage.

WWE producer Bruce Prichard said on WWE Network show 'Something Else To Wrestle' (quotes via Still Real To Us):

“The Undertaker was seated directly in front of me [in Gorilla Position] and he sat there and wrapped his hands while Shawn made his way to the ring. And there was a subliminal message there that, ‘I’m gonna be right here when you come back, just make sure you do business.’"

#3 Randy Orton vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan (WrestleMania 30)

WWE originally planned the following three matches for WrestleMania 30: Triple H vs. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus and Randy Orton vs. Batista (WWE World Heavyweight Championship main event).

Due to Bryan’s overwhelming popularity and CM Punk’s unexpected departure from WWE in January 2014, the company was forced to drastically change the card for that year’s “Show of Shows”. After weeks of storyline twists and turns, it was decided that Triple H would face Bryan at ‘Mania, with the winner being added to the Orton vs. Batista main event.

Originally, it was expected that the returning Batista would win the Royal Rumble and go on to defeat former Evolution colleague Orton in the WrestleMania main event to become a seven-time WWE world champion.

Instead, WWE appeased its fans by having Bryan win the title, with “The Animal” tapping out to “The Leader of the Yes Movement” in the show-closing match.

#2 Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (WrestleMania 34)

Heading into WrestleMania 34, it seemed obvious that Roman Reigns would defeat Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship in the main event. So obvious, in fact, that the fans inside the Superdome hijacked the match with chants of “Rusev Day”, “NXT”, “Boring” and whatever else they could think of.

As it turned out, the ‘obvious’ outcome, with Lesnar losing his title before returning to UFC, did not work out the way that fans expected. Instead, “The Beast” pinned Reigns clean to extend his year-long title reign, and he has since appeared in UFC but he is yet to have another fight inside the octagon.

Although nobody within WWE has confirmed that Reigns was originally supposed to win, it has been revealed that Lesnar only signed a new contract with the company mere hours before his main event against “The Big Dog”, so it is safe to assume that he would not have won the match if he had not re-signed.

#1 Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (WrestleMania 31)

Fans went into WrestleMania 31 with low expectations after an underwhelming build-up to the event. In the end, the show turned out to be one of the best ‘Manias in recent years, with Seth Rollins surprisingly closing the show by cashing in his Money In The Bank contract to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

Like the WrestleMania 34 ending, many people expected Roman Reigns to defeat Brock Lesnar when the two met for the first time in the WrestleMania 31 main event. However, thanks to an idea from Rollins which was only officially put in place backstage on the night of 'Mania, “The Architect” was the one who left as champion.

The Shield member recalled on the Edge & Christian Pod of Awesomeness:

"I remember the next day [after the 2015 Royal Rumble] with Hunter [Triple H], it was the second time because I had pitched the idea at the end of the year before, and I just wanted to remind him that I had this idea on the table and I think it's a pretty good one, and even if it's not the idea it can be a contingency plan if the main event of WrestleMania [Reigns vs. Lesnar] doesn't come to plan how you see it."