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As Vince McMahon says, the eraser is the most dangerous weapon in all of WWE. One minute, a superstar is penciled in to compete in the biggest match of their life. The next, their name is erased and replaced with someone else.
It is well known that WWE's creative figureheads, particularly McMahon, can make last-minute changes before shows. On rare occasions, those alterations can drastically shift the direction of a wrestler's career forever.
One time, the outcome of a WrestleMania main event changed at short notice after the creative team went along with a superstar's title-winning pitch. A similar change occurred a year earlier when one of wrestling's most famous fan-driven movements prompted a major storyline switch.
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In this article, let's look at five iconic WWE moments that were originally planned for a different superstar.
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#5. Dolph Ziggler's WWE Survivor Series moment was meant for Ryback
At Survivor Series 2014, Dolph Ziggler was the sole survivor as John Cena's team defeated The Authority's hand-picked selection of superstars in the main event. The finish saw the debuting Sting attack Triple H before Ziggler pinned Seth Rollins.
Ryback, the first person to be eliminated from Cena's team, only lasted eight minutes in the match. Speaking on his YouTube channel, The Big Guy revealed he was originally supposed to last the entire 43 minutes. However, plans changed and his spot went to Ziggler.
To this day, Survivor Series 2014 remains one of the most memorable moments of Ziggler's career.
#4. Daniel Bryan's WrestleMania 30 babyface spot was meant for Batista
In January 2014, Batista returned to WWE after a four-year absence. Vince McMahon initially wanted The Animal to win the Royal Rumble as a babyface before headlining WrestleMania 30 against the villainous Randy Orton.
Around the same time, Daniel Bryan emerged as one of the most popular good guys WWE had seen in years. Fans almost immediately rejected Batista as a babyface, most notably at the Royal Rumble when his victory was met with loud boos.
In the end, McMahon was left with little choice but to turn Batista heel and insert babyface Bryan into the WrestleMania 30 main event. The Leader of the Yes! Movement defeated Batista and Orton to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in one of WrestleMania's greatest feel-good moments.
#3. Seth Rollins' WrestleMania 31 win was meant for Roman Reigns
Like Batista a year earlier, Roman Reigns was supposed to enter the WrestleMania 31 main event as a good guy after winning the Royal Rumble. Unfortunately, in the same way fans rejected Batista, they had no problem voicing their displeasure at Reigns' sudden main-event push.
Despite the negative crowd reactions, the former Shield member was still expected to beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 to capture his first world title. That was until a real-life storyline pitch from Seth Rollins changed everything.
Rollins suggested to Triple H that he should leave WrestleMania 31 with the gold instead of Reigns. The Game liked the idea and, more importantly, so did Vince McMahon. Rollins ended up successfully cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to produce one of the most shocking conclusions in WrestleMania history.
#2. Steve Austin's King of the Ring win was meant for Triple H
In 1996, Triple H famously received backstage heat after he and Shawn Michaels hugged WCW-bound Kevin Nash and Scott Hall after a match. The character-breaking moment, known as the Curtain Call, was frowned upon by Vince McMahon, who punished The Game for exposing the business.
Triple H was supposed to win the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, but those plans were scrapped after his moment with Hall and Nash. Instead, Stone Cold Steve Austin was crowned the winner. The Texas Rattlesnake used his opportunity in the spotlight to create his iconic "Austin 3:16" catchphrase on the night of his big victory.
A year later, Triple H's punishment ended when he won the 1997 King of the Ring tournament.
#1. Kofi Kingston's WWE title match spot was meant for Mustafa Ali
In 2019, Mustafa Ali was supposed to compete in a WWE Championship match at Elimination Chamber before suffering a legitimate injury.
Ali's replacement, Kofi Kingston, went on to produce one of his greatest career performances in a Gauntlet match on SmackDown before the event. The New Day member also suffered a devastating defeat in the six-man Elimination Chamber contest, which only made fans support him even more.
Kingston's surge in popularity resulted in him beating Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35, an event dubbed KofiMania by his fans. Ali briefly re-entered the title picture before WrestleMania, but he never reached the same heights again.
Can you think of any other iconic moments that were meant for someone else? Let us know in the comments section below.
