5 WWE Superstars Who Refused to Fight in Big Matches

Being a WWE Superstar means that the wrestler has to do what the company asks them to. Some wrestler wins most of their matches while some spend their time jobbing to other Superstars. However, in this competitive field, everyone wants to make a name for himself.

Let it be in the mid-card scene or the main event; wrestlers have to do everything they can to become famous. But for many reasons, some Superstars refuse to do what WWE asks them to, and it could be due to a real-life heat or any other cause.

While it doesn’t happen frequently, this attitude has forced WWE to change their storylines completely. Sometimes a Superstar could be right with his decision of not facing someone, but most of the times they aren't. The following are five WWE Superstars who refused to fight in huge matches.

#5 Sting refused to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 27

The Undertaker and Sting are known for their loyalty towards WCW and WWE respectively, and it's why fans have always wanted to witness this dream match. When Vince McMahon bought WCW, most of their Superstars joined WWE, but Sting didn’t. The icon felt that Vince doesn’t use his Superstars properly and it’s one of the reasons why he didn’t work for him until 2014. However, it didn’t stop the WWE fans from demanding a dream match between Sting and ‘Taker before the icon even joined the promotion.

Some fans are still upset at WWE for wasting an opportunity and not booking Sting vs Undertaker but, it doesn’t mean that the creative team never wanted this match to happen. The writers pitched this match to Sting for WrestleMania 27, but the icon refused to accept it. He believed that Vince was still not good at booking former WCW Superstars and it is why he didn’t face Undertaker.

"There are so many variables. Let's just say that I turned it down for the same reasons I always have. Something in me never trusted what would happen up there, based entirely on the track record with other WCW guys and everything that went on after Vince bought WCW.

Even though Sting joined WWE in 4 years, he still didn’t have the opportunity to face The Phenom. It’s already too late for this match to happen and it may never end up happening.

#4 Shawn Michaels rejected WWE’s offer for a dream match

This match was heavily rumoured to happen

Shawn Michaels had one of the best retirement matches in WWE history. Tussling it out with The Undertaker, he retired in a fantastic way. At the time of his retirement, Michaels had already faced almost every Superstar in WWE, but since Vince McMahon signs new talents every year, it didn’t take long before fans demanded more dream matches from Michaels. However, the Heartbreak Kid remained true to his words and rejected every returning offer WWE gave him.

During 2017, many rumour mills reported that Shawn Michaels could return to the squared circle for a dream match against AJ Styles. The crowd was hot about this match, and almost everyone demanded it to happen. It was a great way to make WrestleMania a blockbuster, but Michaels refused to return, due to his age.

“I guess I’m breaking something with you and I don’t even know if I should, but I could have had that match. They didn’t have an opponent for AJ at WrestleMania. I said that I hadn’t been asked because I hadn’t — but then I was. … I said, ‘I wish that young man was here ten years ago, man. I honestly do. I think he’s very talented.'”

#3 Nevile didn’t want to lose against Enzo Amore again

Since the inception of 205 live division in WWE, the show didn’t do significant benefit to the company. However, when the King of Cruiserweights, Neville, joined the brand, the brand started gaining some momentum. WWE saw the growth and handed the Cruiserweight Championship to him, after which, he did a fantastic job. Although it didn’t take much longer for WWE to ruin things by pushing a wrong Superstar.

The fans enjoyed watching Neville rule the 205 Live brand, but WWE had other plans for the show. They wanted Enzo Amore to be the main highlight of it, and it's why they made him beat Neville for the Cruiserweight Title. This loss shocked many WWE fans as it didn’t make sense to take away the championship from the best Superstar of the brand.

Weeks went by, but Neville didn’t appear, which indicated that he might have quit WWE. As per Bleacher Report, Neville was supposed to lose against Enzo in a lumberjack match, but he walked out of WWE before the match could start. However, WWE remained silent on the matter until 2018 when they finally announced Neville's departure. When a fan asked him why did he leave WWE, the former champion said this:

“They killed the king and gave the crown to a wannabe rapper.”

#2 Chris Jericho declined to be Bray Wyatt’s replacement at Tables, ladders and chairs (TLC)

In late 2017, multiple WWE Superstars mysteriously started falling ill. This included wrestlers like Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and Mandy Rose. Out of these three Superstars, Wyatt and Reigns were pulled out from TLC due to their sickness.

WWE needed a replacement for Wyatt’s TLC opponent Finn Balor. They reached out to Chris Jericho to be Balor’s opponent at the show, but Jericho rejected their pitch saying he will be on the road with his metal band "Fozzy." WWE couldn’t convince Y2J to perform at the show, which proved to be a blessing in disguise for fans as we got to see a high-profile match between AJ Styles and Finn Balor. The former Bullet Club leaders did a great job at TLC and provided a match, we will never forget in our lifetime.

#1 Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles at WWE Crown Jewel

2018 was full of controversies for WWE, especially when they stuck to their decision on hosting Crown Jewel at Saudi Arabia. Majority of the WWE fans and even Superstars were unhappy with this decision, but due to their partnership, nothing restrained the show from happening. However, it doesn’t mean that everybody performed at the show.

Superstars like John Cena and Daniel Bryan reportedly refused to work at Crown Jewel, because of the controversy surrounding it. Cena was supposed to work at the World Cup tournament, and Bryan was supposed to face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship. But WWE created an angle for both Superstars to write them off from the show.

Bobby Lashley replaced Cena at the show while Samoa Joe faced AJ Styles instead of Bryan. After the show, everything went normal, and Bryan continued his rivalry with Styles and eventually won the WWE Championship before the Survivor Series pay-per-view.

Edited by Mustafa Ismail