5 Big WWE WrestleMania plans that were scrapped

It's a new year which means that the WWE Universe will now be counting down the days or weeks until this year's WrestleMania. The road to the biggest show of the year begins at The Royal Rumble at the end of the month and the next few weeks will see many rumors released regarding the matches for this year's show.

Last year's WrestleMania was hit hard by The COVID-19 pandemic which meant that many plans were changed, including the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which was scrapped because of the new regulations.

Another match that was changed at the last minute was Roman Reigns vs Goldberg since the Universal Championship match between the two men made it down to the last few weeks, before Braun Strowman was drafted in to replace Reigns after he was forced to drop out.

Of course, last year's WrestleMania isn't the only big show that has been affected by last-minute changes or last-minute re-writes, here are just five occasions in recent years where WWE have been forced to scrap WrestleMania matches or plans.

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#5. The Rock vs Roman Reigns - WWE WrestleMania 36

The COVID-19 pandemic hit WWE just weeks before WrestleMania 36 and caused some huge changes to the show, but ahead of the lockdown, the company had planned for Roman Reigns to take on his cousin The Rock.

The match between the two men has been building for a number of years and WrestleMania 36 was seen as the perfect place, because the show was set to take place from The Raymond James Stadium in Orlando, Florida which is the hometown of both men.

The pandemic caused WWE several issues at the beginning of the year and The Rock's busy schedule outside of the ring was also a factor in the decision making heading into this match, which is why WWE was forced to call on Goldberg instead.

The Rock has made it clear that he wants to face his cousin in the future but it's highly unlikely that will be in the near future with the most recent rumors surrounding the situation stating that the two men could finally get their WrestleMania main event in 2022.

#4. Triple H vs CM Punk - WWE WrestleMania 30

CM Punk was the self-proclaimed "Best In The World" during his time in WWE and was looking to main event WrestleMania in 2014. The former World Champion had been working hard as part of the company for several years and hoped that the company would grant him the opportunity to main event the biggest show of the year at WrestleMania 30.

Punk was instead scheduled to face Triple H on The Grandest Stage Of Them All and wasn't happy when he was informed that he was being snubbed for the main event once again.

Punk walked away from the company following the 2014 Royal Rumble which caused WWE to change a number of plans for that year's show. Daniel Bryan was pushed as the main eventer in Punk's absence and went on to wrestle Triple H at WrestleMania instead, which meant that his originally planned match with Sheamus was scrapped.

Batista and Randy Orton were the two men scheduled to main event WrestleMania but WWE made the decision to include Bryan in that main event match after he was able to defeat The Game on the same night.

#3. The Rock and Ronda Rousey vs Triple H and Stephanie McMahon - WWE WrestleMania 34

Ronda Rousey shocked the world when she made her WWE debut back at the 2018 Royal Rumble event and went on to sign a full-time contract with the company. Rousey didn't wrestle her first match with WWE until WrestleMania 34 later in the year where she was initially scheduled to team up with The Rock against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

The four stars were part of a segment back at WrestleMania 31 where Rousey made it clear that it was "her ring" before disposing of both McMahon and Triple H. The company pushed for the match to go ahead in the years that followed and finally seemed to have a plan in 2018.

The Rock was seemingly happy to appear at WrestleMania but because he was injured in his last match back at WrestleMania 32, he was reluctant to wrestle. This meant that Kurt Angle was the man chosen to replace The Rock and team with Ronda Rousey instead.

The duo was able to defeat The Authority and Ronda Rousey was the highlight of the night on her debut.

#2. The Bella Twins and Team Rhodes Scholars vs Tons of Funk and The Funkadactyls - WWE WrestleMania 29

WrestleMania 29 is one of the only WWE pay-per-view shows in recent years that has failed to feature a women's match. This is because originally there was a match planned to take place on the show, but after The Undertaker's incredible match with CM Punk went longer than it should have, WWE decided to scrap the bout.

This one came down to the wire since the entire moment was featured on Total Divas when The Bella Twins and The Funkadactyls were backstage in their ring gear ready to make their entrances. The women were then told that due to time constraints they wouldn't be able to be part of the show and the match happened the following night instead.

This happens often in WWE. Matches are scrapped or the length is changed from five minutes to two minutes as the stars are coming out of the curtain.

The Women's revolution in recent years has ensured that women are now always present on the WrestleMania card, but last-minute match changes are still a huge problem in WWE.

#1. Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon vs Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn - WWE WrestleMania 34

There was four of us on the zoom with KO and I've got to say, he was really, really good. He has no problem sharing at all and that's the best.He told @KennyMcITR that the plan for WrestleMania 33 at one point was Shane & Vince Vs KO & Sami! Can you imagine!

— Alex McCarthy (@AlexM_talkSPORT) December 14, 2020

The big news heading into WWE WrestleMania 34 back in 2018 was the fact that just two years after announcing his retirement from in-ring competition, Daniel Bryan was able to make his return to the ring.

It was a huge shock for the WWE Universe and the company as a whole since this meant that Bryan could now be added to the WrestleMania card and taken out of his job as General Manager of SmackDown.

Kevin Owens recently revealed in an interview with Inside The Ropes that Daniel Bryan wasn't part of the original plan for his match at WrestleMania 34, instead, it was supposed to be Vince and Shane McMahon taking on Owens and Sami Zayn.

"I wish it would have led to more, honestly. But who wouldn't feel that way? I think it could have, and I think it almost did. I really think, at one point, there was a chance that it was going to be me and Sami Zayn against Shane and Vince at WrestleMania."

This made sense since Owens and Vince McMahon had an altercation earlier in the year, but it appears that the WWE Chairman made the decision to step aside when it was revealed that Daniel Bryan was in a position where he could wrestle instead.