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The process of putting together a WWE match is very complicated. Not only do the Superstars involved have to agree on the outcome, but every match has a producer who has to approve the finish before the Superstars go out to the ring.
In most cases, everything runs smoothly and the finish goes according to plan. However, when a WWE Superstar suffers a serious injury or somebody backstage has asked for a change to be made, the in-ring competitors have to quickly come to an agreement on how to finish their match.
On one occasion, WWE’s decision-makers even told the referee to let the Superstars in the ring know that the winner of the match had changed, while one person switched his own finish at a WWE live event because he wanted his opponent to win instead.
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In this article, let’s take a look at three WWE Superstars who refused to change a finish during a match, as well as three who agreed.
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#6 Seth Rollins refused to defeat Finn Balor (WWE SummerSlam 2016)
Finn Balor became the inaugural WWE Universal Champion when he defeated Seth Rollins for the title at WWE SummerSlam 2016, but the match is best remembered for the Irishman suffering a serious shoulder injury early on in the 19-minute encounter.
Speaking on The Impressionable Hour With Al Foran (56-minute mark), Balor explained that his shoulder popped out three times during the match. As a result, he and Rollins agreed to cut out a sequence at the end that could have made the injury worse, while he even asked his opponent if they should change the finish.
“I said, ‘Just cut all that out, I’m too hurt. To be honest, dude, I’m not going to be able to wrestle tomorrow. I think you should go over as champ.’ He goes, ‘No, stay the course, stay the course.’”
Balor clarified that the injury, which occurred when Rollins threw him against the barricade with a buckle bomb, was nobody’s fault and he even praised his opponent for being professional enough to stick to the original outcome.
“Looking back, him not capitalizing on that opportunity, with me offering, and him being so cool to say, ‘No, dude, be calm, the office will sort it out.’ Because in my mind, I’m thinking I’m hurt, I’m not going to wrestle tomorrow, I don’t want the office to have to figure all this out and explain why Finn’s not here, he’s injured.”
The former WWE NXT Champion said he instructed the referee not to raise his right arm after his victory because it could have done even more damage to his shoulder.
However, he was left with little choice but to risk the injury moments later when a cameraman said WWE Chairman Vince McMahon wanted him to hold the WWE Universal Championship above his head with both hands.
Balor revealed he could hear his shoulder making a “crunch, crunch, crunch” noise as he lifted the title higher and higher above his head.
#5 Ricky Steamboat agreed to defeat Chris Jericho (WWE live event)
When a veteran WWE Superstar steps back into the ring after a lengthy absence, it is inevitable that many fans will complain that they want to see younger performers in the spotlight instead.
In Ricky Steamboat’s case, he received widespread praise for his performance after returning to a WWE ring at the age of 56 in 2009. In fact, he was so good at WWE WrestleMania XXV – the event where Chris Jericho defeated Steamboat, Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka in a handicap elimination match – that he went on to face Jericho in a singles match at the next pay-per-view, WWE Backlash.
Throughout the summer of 2009, Steamboat competed in WWE live event matches against two up-and-coming Superstars, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus, while he also continued his rivalry with Jericho by facing him at two live events.
Jericho won the first live event match, just like he did at WrestleMania XXV and Backlash. He was also scheduled to win the second live event match in South Carolina – one of Steamboat’s old NWA stomping grounds – but he offered to switch the finish during the match after hearing the reaction of the crowd.
Steamboat agreed with Jericho and ended up winning the match with a roll-up in a similar way to how he defeated “Macho Man” Randy Savage in their famous encounter at WrestleMania III.
#4 Daniel Bryan refused to stop his match against Randy Orton (WWE RAW)
In June 2013, Daniel Bryan was on course to pick up one of the biggest victories of his WWE career in a No Disqualification match against Randy Orton on WWE RAW.
Unfortunately for “The Leader of the Yes Movement”, he suffered a stinger during the match and he could not feel his arms after landing a top-rope dropkick on his opponent.
Speaking through a headset, Triple H told WWE's medical doctor at ringside to end the match early but Bryan repeatedly ignored him and refused to stop competing.
"I had gotten a stinger in a match and lost feelings in both of my arms. I have a mentality of never stopping a match. Whether it's really good or really bad, that's my mentality." [H/T Opie Radio, via Wrestling Inc.]
Triple H ordered that the match must come to an end, with Orton being declared the winner. This angered Bryan, who confronted the 14-time WWE World Champion in the backstage area after the match.
"When I came back, I was hot. I don't want to say we got nose-to-nose, because he's six-three. We came pretty close. They're more conscious of protecting us from ourselves."
Bryan defeated Orton via countout at a WWE SmackDown taping one day later and the injury did not force him to take any time off.
#3 Marti Belle and Rachel Evers reportedly agreed to change their WWE Mae Young Classic finish
The 2017 WWE Mae Young Classic was a huge success, with the tournament showcasing future WWE Superstars including Bianca Belair, Dakota Kai, Kairi Sane, Lacey Evans, Rhea Ripley, Shayna Baszler and Toni Storm.
In the first round of the 32-woman competition, Rachel Evers defeated Marti Belle in a match that lasted 6 minutes and 10 seconds. Evers, the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering, advanced to the second round, where she lost to Abbey Laith in 4 minutes and 49 seconds.
WWE recorded the Mae Young Classic several weeks prior to the episodes airing on the WWE Network in both 2017 and 2018, which meant spoilers were leaked a long time before fans could watch the matches.
In July 2017, Wrestling News World reported that Belle was originally supposed to win but the victory was switched to Evers midway through the match.
Belle, who also competed in a six-woman tag team match at the Mae Young Classic tapings, has since established herself as a member of the NWA roster. Evers, meanwhile, signed with WWE in 2019 but received her release in 2020 as a cost-cutting measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
#2 Triple H refused to change the finish when he tore his quad (WWE RAW)
In April 2001, Triple H and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin briefly became allies. Known as The Two-Man Power Trip, they held WWE’s top male singles titles at the time – the WWE Championship (Austin) and the Intercontinental Championship (Triple H) – while they were also WWE Tag Team Champions.
Unfortunately, the tag team only lasted a few weeks due to a serious quadriceps injury that Triple H suffered in a Tag Team Championship match against Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho on WWE RAW.
Triple H revealed on Jericho's 'Talk is Jericho' podcast that he insisted on completing the match and allowed Jericho to lock in the Walls of Jericho on the announce desk, even though the submission move targeted his injured quad. Moments later, Jericho pinned Austin to win the titles for his team.
“When I first tore my quad it was really bad. There was a point [Dr. James Andrews] told me that no one in an impact sport has been able to come back from this kind of quad tear before. You can, but it's going to take a lot of work and it's going to be difficult. And I said I was going to be first because I'm not not going to do this anymore.” [via Newsweek]
The Two-Man Power Trip disbanded due to Triple H’s injury and “The Game” was ruled out for eight months, meaning he missed the entire Invasion storyline involving WWE and WCW/ECW.
#1 Big Cass agreed to change the finish against Enzo Amore (WWE RAW)
In August 2017, Big Cass tore his ACL in a Brooklyn Street Fight against Enzo Amore on an episode of WWE RAW. The 7-footer was unable to continue, which meant the victory was awarded to Amore, and he did not return to in-ring action until April 2018.
Amore took exception to Cass bringing an early end to the match and stopped speaking to his former tag team partner for over a year after the incident.
The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion said on The Store Horsemen podcast in 2018 that he could not forgive Cass for ruining his big moment, which would have seen him finally get revenge on his WWE rival by hitting him with a steel chair.
“In that moment, it was the first time in my life in wrestling where I ever went, 'Bro. I can't forgive you for this.' Like, I've let people kill me for the past five years. I've taken the heat in every one of our matches, every bump. And I get this chair in my hand, and you're standing up, and you can't take a chair shot?’” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Amore, who has since made up with Cass, added that he would have happily finished the match with his opponent catching the chair and hitting him with a DDT, but he did not like that their WWE feud ended due to a referee’s stoppage.
