10 Cancelled WWE WrestleMania Matches

Considering WrestleMania’s reputation and importance as WWE’s flagship event, you might be forgiven for thinking that the show’s lineup is written far in advance, laminated and then placed in a locked vault somewhere deep in the heart of Titan Towers.

While WWE may strive to have the card locked in and untouched weeks if not months ahead of time, the fact is that injuries, timing issues and other unforeseen circumstances can make that whole ‘card subject to change’ line a very handy caveat to have when the lights are on brightest.

These are 10 Cancelled WWE WrestleMania Matches.

10. Bobby Lashley vs. Bray Wyatt - WrestleMania 39

Despite being one of WWE’s standout performers for an age leading up to the big show, poor Bobby Lashley couldn’t buy his way onto the WrestleMania 39 rundown.

There were several matches rumoured for the All Mighty, including one last epic showdown with Brock Lesnar, but none of them ended up happening.

The most likely bout for Lashley was against Bray Wyatt, who had become freed up after the Beast Incarnate had refused to work with him.

Lashley and Wyatt feuded for several weeks and it looked a dead certainty that the match would happen in some form or fashion on one of the two nights in Hollywood (even if it was never officially announced).

But then the Eater of Worlds disappeared from television and, after weeks of speculation, was removed from the Show of Shows due to an undisclosed illness. It would be revealed later in the year that Wyatt suffered from COVID-19-related heart issues around this time. He tragically passed away in August 2023.

With Wyatt out, Lashley then threw out an open challenge – which went unanswered – and all the former WWE Champion could do was stand and look proud next to his Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy, which he won on the go-home episode of SmackDown.

9. The Headshrinkers, Jeff Jarrett, Irwin R. Schyster, & Rick Martel vs. The Smoking Gunns, Tatanka, 1-2-3 Kid, & Thurman Plugg - WrestleMania X

A 10-man tag team match was supposed to act as the buffer between the Intercontinental Title Ladder Match and WWE Title match at WrestleMania 10.

Midcard-Mania was set to run wild, as the team of The Headshrinkers, Jeff Jarrett, IRS & Rick Martel were booked against The Smoking Gunns, Tatanka, 1-2-3 Kid and Sparky Plugg.

Running low on time and needing as much as possible for Bret Hart and Yokozuna’s headliner, WWE pulled the match at the last minute. The kayfabe reason given was that the heel squad couldn’t decide on a team captain.

In actuality, Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon had gone significantly over their allotted time, despite repeated pleas for them to wrap things up, according to Bob Holly’s autobiography.

You have to feel for the guys who got their WrestleMania moment (and paycheque) snatched away at the death, but the IC Title ladder match is a genuine classic and made great use of its almost 19-minute runtime.

8. The British Bulldog vs. The Berzerker - WrestleMania 8

WrestleMania 8 was a test for WWE, as they shaved an hour off the runtime, making the event a three-hour (rather than four-hour) spectacular.

Midway through the proceedings, backstage producers realised that something was going to have to be cut if they were going to get the show over the line on time.

The Natural Disasters and Money Inc. were asked to shave some minutes off their bout, but never did, leaving Vince McMahon to request that The British Bulldog and The Berzerker truncate their contest to a paltry minute.

Davey Boy Smith duly informed his boss that he didn’t ‘do’ one-minute matches. Steve Keirn, however, did do one-minute matches and was happy to put Owen Hart over in a short contest right before the main event.

WWE basically needed something to calm the crowd down before Hulk Hogan and Sid went out there for the headliner.

In a rare example of WWE acknowledging their own false advertisement, they actually apologised for the lack of Bulldog vs. Berzerker at the end of the Coliseum Home Video release.

7. Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Kamala - WrestleMania 9

A year after WWE scrapped The British Bulldog vs. The Berzerker, WWE were forced to chop yet another match from the bill on the biggest show of the year.

WrestleMania 9 was supposed to see a superheavyweight scrap between Bam Bam Bigelow and Kamala – which would have served as the WWE pay-per-view swansong for the Ugandan Giant – until it was nixed.

For the longest time it was just assumed that one or more of the bouts on the show had run long, forcing the match to be axed. Bruce Prichard explained on his Something to Wrestle podcast, The Beast from the East and his belly-painted dance partner were not included in the festivities due to the show’s ‘impromptu’ ending.

Yes, according to Brother Love himself, WWE got rid of a whole advertised match because they needed to make sure that Hulk Hogan had enough time to pose with the WWE Title after winning it from Yokozuna.

6. Razor Ramon vs. Goldust - WrestleMania 12

WrestleMania 12 was set up for Razor Ramon to avenge his shock loss from the 1996 Royal Rumble and recapture the Intercontinental Title by beating Goldust in a Miami Street Fight.

However, the Bad Guy was not comfortable working with the Bizarre One due to the strong overtones of the storyline. Not only was Hall hesitant to work with Dustin Runnels’ alter-ego, but he was informed of a drug test failure and slapped with a six-week suspension in the run-up to the Grandaddy of Them All, rendering the point moot anyway.

Scott himself was sceptical of the timing, claiming that the test was already six weeks old by that point and that he was suspended because he had pretty much let it be known that he was on his way back to WCW when his contract expired in a couple of months.

Roddy Piper ended up taking his place in what became an excellent ‘Hollywood Backlot Brawl’.

5. Team Rhodes Scholars & The Bella Twins vs. Tons of Funk & The Funkadactyls - WrestleMania 29

Built up for weeks on Raw and SmackDown and then 86’d at the 11th hour, this eight-person intergender tag match was yet another victim of poor time management.

While the commonly held belief is that some other matches went over their allotted time and P-Diddy needed long enough to perform an entire album’s worth of material, one of the match’s would-be participants has a different theory.

Cody Rhodes is on record as saying he thinks the match was never supposed to happen in the first place and that its booking and cancellation was all done to serve as a storyline for the Total Divas reality show.

The American Nightmare also noted that Vince McMahon personally told the octet that they were going to have to do it on Raw the next night instead.

Cody wasn’t happy with it by any stretch and said he would be more annoyed if it was all for Total Divas, since he’d at least like to be let in on the secret in order to make a proper scene for the cameras.

4. Earthquake vs. Ludvig Borga - WrestleMania 10

Ludvig Borga was scheduled to wrestle Tatanka at the 1994 Royal Rumble, as the Native American sought to redress the end of his undefeated streak.

Days before the pay-per-view, however, the Hellraiser from Helsinki knackered his ankle while wrestling at a Madison Square Garden house show. He was taken off the Rumble, but WWE officials expected him back in time for the Showcase of the Immortals.

WrestleMania couldn’t possibly pass without Ludvig Borga it seems as WWE booked him in a match with Earthquake at ‘Mania 10.

It’s an interesting matchup for a number of reasons, most of which revolved around the politics of who would go over on the night, since WWE clearly had plans for Borga and ‘Quake had not long since returned to the company and was being built for a colossal tussle with Yokozuna.

WWE had the problem taken out of their hands, though, when Ludvig not only didn’t return in time for the match, but didn’t return to the company at all. Adam Bomb replaced him and was beaten in 32 seconds by Earthquake.

3. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 13

In the main event of WrestleMania 12, Shawn Michaels realised his boyhood dream by beating Bret Hart to capture the WWE Title for the first time, scoring the decisive (and only) fall in sudden death of their one-hour Iron Man match.

A year later, The Heartbreak Kid was due to defend his title against The Hitman in the main event of WrestleMania 13.

Looking to avenge his previous loss, Hart would come back with a chip on his shoulder and make things more personal with Michaels by blasting him for not being a proper role model. According to Bret, he would regain the title, teeing up a third and final pay-per-view match between the pair at a later date.

That was the plan, anyway, before the Showstopper put a stop to the show. Citing lingering knee issues and a ‘lost smile’, HBK vacated the belt about a month before ‘Mania, throwing the card into a state of flux.

Making the best of the situation, WWE instead booked Bret against Stone Cold Steve Austin and they had possibly the best match of all-time. Shawn eventually found his smile by May 1997, when he returned to WWE TV.

2. Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg - WrestleMania 36

It’s a minor miracle that WWE managed to put on WrestleMania 36 at all, with the COVID-19 pandemic shutting the world down as everyone stared into the great unknown.

By hook or crook, WWE managed to deliver a very different type of WrestleMania, with some matches altered and others taking on a cinematic form.

One wrestler who didn’t make it to the show was Roman Reigns, who was scheduled to challenge Goldberg for the Universal Title.

With a deadly virus on the loose, The Big Dog wasn’t about to risk his or his family’s health – even with WWE taking as many precautions as possible – because of his compromised immune system (owing to his previous struggles with leukaemia).

Appreciating the increased risk that performing presented to one of their biggest stars, WWE respected his decision to withdraw from the event.

Braun Strowman ended up taking his place and beat Goldberg to win the Universal Title.

1. Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair - WrestleMania 8

When Ric Flair showed up on WWE programming carrying the Big Gold Belt and proclaiming himself to be wrestling’s ‘real’ world champion, an in-ring meeting with Hulk Hogan seemed inevitable.

Two of the biggest stars in the wrestling world, a proxy war between the best of WWE and the best of the NWA, it was a dream match that seemed tailor-made for the Grandest Stage.

All indications were that it would go on last at WrestleMania 8, especially when the Nature Boy won the WWE Title in the 1992 Royal Rumble at the expense of The Hulkster.

For whatever reason – and a bunch have been given – the match never made it to ‘Mania, with WWE instead shuffling their deck to give us Flair versus Randy Savage (good!) and Hogan versus Sid Justice (not so good!).

Some have blamed McMahon’s cold feet on lukewarm attendance figures for Ric and Hulk’s house show outings, while others have credited Hogan’s desire to ‘retire’ and go make cinematic masterpieces like Mr Nanny as the reason (meaning he wouldn’t be able to win the belt and then tour as champion).