4 WWE stars who got removed and replaced in big matches at SummerSlam

WWE SummerSlam is one of the most important events in the Stamford-based promotion, and many stars always hope to get a spot on the card. However, there have been instances where their appearances have had to be altered.

In 2022, Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle were supposed to have their singles match after their long-awaited personal feud. However, the bout was canceled, and both men brawled during the premium live event instead. Interestingly, a few more WWE stars experienced the same scenario of getting their match canceled, or even replaced, at The Biggest Party of the Summer.

In this list, we will look at four WWE stars who were removed or replaced in big matches at SummerSlam.

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#4. John Cena took Finn Balor's spot at WWE SummerSlam 2021

At the 2021 Money in the Bank event, John Cena shocked fans and Roman Reigns after he returned to issue a challenge to the champion for the Undisputed WWE Championship. However, on the following episode of SmackDown, The Head of the Table accepted Finn Balor's challenge instead.

Balor and Reigns were set for a contract signing to make the SummerSlam match official, but there were a couple of gatecrashers. Before Finn signed the contract, Baron Corbin stole the paper and attempted to sign it before The Cenation Leader did it. As a result, that year's Biggest Party of the Summer featured John vs. Reigns.

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#3. The Miz gave up his spot at SummerSlam 2019

In 2019, The Miz and Dolph Ziggler (aka Nic Nemeth) had a feud en route to SummerSlam. Reports later shared that the former was used as a red herring for somebody else, which many initially thought was Shawn Michaels after Ziggler attacked the Hall of Famer weeks prior. As it turned out, it was for a different Hall of Famer.

On an episode of RAW before the event, The Miz tricked Dolph into signing a contract without knowing that the names in the contract were Ziggler and Goldberg. The A-Lister later revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live that he let Goldberg have the spot after Dolph continuously insulted the legend, and it could be one of the last matches of the Hall of Famer.

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#2. Bayley's spot in a title match was given to somebody else in 2017 after suffering an injury

On the July 24, 2017, episode of RAW, Bayley defeated Sasha Banks (aka Mercedes Mone) to challenge Alexa Bliss for the brand's Women's Championship at that year's Biggest Party of the Summer. However, tragedy struck two weeks later.

The Role Model suffered a shoulder injury after her match with Nia Jax on the July 31 episode of the Monday show. The following week, it was announced that Bayley couldn't compete. Sasha Banks took Bayley's place after another set of Triple Threat matches and defeated Bliss for the title.

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#1. Eva Marie was suspended ahead of SummerSlam 2016

Eva Marie briefly returned to WWE in 2020-2021 [Image Credit: WWE.com]

Eva Marie was scheduled to compete in a six-woman tag team match at SummerSlam 2016. She was supposed to team with Natalya and Alexa Bliss against Naomi, Becky Lynch, and Carmella. However, it was later reported that she got suspended for 30 days after violating WWE's Wellness Policy.

It was initially thought that the match would become a 2-on-3 handicap match, but instead, it featured the return of Nikki Bella (aka Nikki Garcia) after 10 months away from wrestling. The returning star's team picked up the victory.